Future Strife
by Jediempress
Summary: The third arc of the Unavoidable Truth series. As Riku and Cloud's big day approaches, old issues must finally be dealt with and new ones confronted. COMPLETED.
1. Chapter 1

This continues the epic story of Cloud and Riku (ie, getting hitched though that won't happen in this story). There will be two more one shots following this story and then the final arc. Yes, I'm editing it for fix some issues so these notes may seem to contradict a bit for awhile. I also combined the first two chapters.

No, I don't own the characters or the worlds used. The story itself is mine.

Thank you for reading and please review.

* * *

Future Strife

"Ugh! That's it. I'm done." This was followed by a long pause. "You said you were fine with him." Another pause followed. "I said if-" Rolling of eyes. "At least he's always honest with me!"

Sora watched Riku pace around in agitation. His silver-haired friend's conversation had become increasingly agitated and apparently had now reached critical hour. Sora was 99.7 % sure he knew what this particular argument was about; and Kairi had been right. He owed her fifty Munny.

"I can't deal with this right now. I'll call later." Riku angrily disconnected and strangled the device. "Why is he so fuckin' difficult?"

Sora sipped on his smoothie. He knew better than to talk while Riku was still fuming. Best give him a few more minutes.

"And he calls me high-maintenance. He's being the stubborn little bitch! It's not like I'm asking him to spend quality time with him or anything!"

Riku was quiet for a few minutes and Sora decided it was all right to speak. "Let me guess, Cloud's really uncomfortable with having Sephiroth actually being involved with the ceremony."

Riku glared at the brunette.

Sora sighed and set his cup down. "Come on, Riku. You had to know this was gonna come up despite what Cloud said."

"I just hoped…" Riku rubbed his forehead. He sat heavily beside his best friend, who graciously handed him his fruit smoothie. "I'm starting to think we should just elope."

"Can two guys do that?"

"I don't know." Riku chuckled lightly. "But it sounds really good right now."

"You know Mom would kill you if you bail out now. Not to mention Yuffie, Aerith, and Tifa."

"Yeah; they're the main reason we're doing this stupid ceremony thing." That was a lie. Riku was secretly ecstatic about this whole thing.

He glanced down and twisted the silver band on his ring finger. When Cloud had decided they were ready to move to the next stage, Riku had actually cried. It had come so unexpectedly; Riku always figured Cloud was scared of commitment due the tragic ends of prior relationships so he was content to be simply 'dating' forever.

Then during Riku's last long visit, Cloud had done the unthinkable. He had taken Riku, along with Sora and Leon, to the hidden falls that Riku had shown him over winter holiday. A brief moment of panic had seized Riku's heart, fearing that Cloud was about to say this was not working for him any more and only brought the others to keep him from wussing out.

...And when that little box had appeared, the tears just sprung. He felt like such a girl but he could not help it. It was the single most romantic moment of his life. He threw his arms around his blonde boyfriend before he even finished his little speech (Riku hadn't even heard the beginning having been too overwhelmed).

They'd had some spectacular sex that night.

"You two will work it out." Sora assured him. "Cloud loves you, and that means he's got to deal with everything about you."

"Yeah, well, you remember how well he dealt with the whole Sephiroth thing in the first place." Riku grumbled, taking a long drink. "This needs rum."

"It's too early for rum." Sora chastised.

"It's never too early. I thought you used to hang with pirates." Riku smirked, leaning forward and resting his arms on his thighs. The moment of levity helped some but now he was back to his original problem. "It'll work out. Somehow…"

"Yeah," Sora nodded emphatically.

"Ugh. I'm supposed to call Seph now. He'll know the second I open my mouth something's up."

Sora shivered. While he had long ago accepted the one (or was it three? It seemed to change count every time he saw him) winged angel as part of Riku's really messed up family; he still kept a fair amount of distance from him. "Yeah, have fun with that."

"What? You're not going to listen in so you can reassure me after?" Riku looked disappointed.

"I'm helping my mom today so you're on your own." He tried not to smile but was not very successful.

"Bastard;" Riku stood, taking Sora's smoothie with him. "Fine; this is mine now. Oh, is Leon still volunteering to help your mom?"

"Yeah; Mom can't wait to meet him." Sora rolled his eyes. "Have fun talking with Sephy."

"You know, I really hate you right now."

"Really...?" Sora teased as he got up. "I dislike you most of the time."

Riku slugged him in the shoulder. "Dinner still on?"

"Yep, at six; Mom will kill you if you're late."

"I won't be. Conversations with my brother never last that long." Sora waved as he left and Riku let his shoulders slump. He turned and headed in the other direction. He would wait until he was safe within his house to call Sephiroth.

It was bad enough that at least a dozen of the Islanders had just heard him arguing with Cloud.

-0—0—

When Riku entered the kitchen, he immediately fell into a chair. "Does everyone go through this insanity?"

"From what I hear, yes." Seiya laughed, handing him a beer. She didn't normally give alcohol to the teenagers that frequented her house but made exceptions on occasions. "Here. Dinner's almost ready."

"I am _so_ looking forward to it." He popped the top and took a long drink. "I swear I'm gonna be an alcoholic by the time this is finished."

Sora walked in and peered over his mom's shoulder. "Is it done yet?"

"Back, Sora." Seiya batted him away. "It's done when it's done now go sit with Riku and make him feel better like a good best friend."

"How'd things go with Sephiroth?" Sora slid into the chair beside Riku. "He didn't try arguing with you too did he?"

"No which is the really annoying part. Seph has been perfectly cooperative about everything. Cloud's just being stubborn."

"Well he is with you."

Riku cuffed him. "Not funny."

Sora grinned but spoke seriously. "It will all work out. You know Cloud better than any of us. Even Leon says Cloud doesn't really mean most of what he's saying."

"I know," Riku ran a hand through his lengthy hair. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Well, on to a brighter subject then." Seiya came to the table, electric wok in hand. She set it down before them and grinned brightly. "What are we doing for your birthday?"

Riku laughed once. "You know, I haven't even thought about that."

"You better start then." The woman settled herself in the chair beside Sora. "Turning eighteen is a major thing."

"Yeah," Sora scooped out a large spoonful of stir-fry. "Cloud no longer has to worry about getting arrested if he comes to visit."

Riku shot him a dirty look and Seiya whapped him in the back of the head. Large blue eyes looked between them as Sora gave them a questioning expression. He shook his head and muttered. "You guys have no sense of humor."

Seiya turned back to Riku, watching her surrogate son take a much smaller portion of food. "You are going to eat more than that."

Riku rolled his eyes. "This is plenty, Seiya. I haven't been hungry but I've been making sure to eat a little throughout the day."

She narrowed her eyes at Riku but nodded and quickly grinned again. She really was almost as bad as her son was. "So, what do you want to do for your birthday?"

"I honestly have no idea." The teen took a bite of food. "I guess I can just get the gang together and we can have a bonfire at the beach or something."

"That sounds fun." Seiya picked at her own food. "Will you invite anyone from Radiant Garden?"

Riku frowned a bit. "I doubt they can take the time. They've already set aside so much for the wedding, I don't want them to fall behind any further."

Sora glanced at his mother and a corner of his lip curled up. Seiya lifted an eyebrow at the brunet and continued talking about what food she should make for the get together. Riku did not notice the exchange and this discussion took up the rest of dinner.

-0—0—

Riku was laughing along with Seiya as Sora tried to explain, yet again, why he could no longer eat shellfish. While they both completely understood his reasoning, if they had befriended a talking crab they would have issue also, it was still fun to pick on him for it. All Seiya could say was it was a good thing Sora never went to a world with walking, talking vegetables.

The silvered teen's phone rang and he stopped chuckling. An odd mix of joy and annoyance crossed his face and the other two would have known who was calling even if they did not recognize the personalized ring tone.

Seiya sent him an encouraging smile as he stood, pulling the phone from his back pocket. He answered as he walked outside to stand on the back steps. "Hey."

"Hey," Cloud replied, his voice soft. There was a pause. "I'm sorry about earlier."

"Uh-huh," Riku sat on the top step and looked up at the stars.

"You're still mad."

He sighed. "I'm not mad, just…"

"I know. I'm trying, Riku. I really am."

Riku smiled tightly. "…And that's the problem. You can't force something like this, and I have no right to try to make you."

"You aren't making me do anything. I want this to work. I want you to be happy."

Pulling his gaze from the sky, Riku cradled the phone against his shoulder and began twisting the ring on his finger. "I am happy, Cloud. I never imagined I could be this happy."

"But it's not perfect."

Riku laughed lightly. "It never will be."

On the other end, Cloud sighed. "I wish it could be."

"We all do, love, but if everything was, then we'd have nothing to aim for in life."

"Hmm…"

"Where are you right now?" The silvered teen asked softly.

"Our spot;" Riku could hear the man's smile; "You?"

"Sora's back porch," Riku replied. "Seiya's bugging me about my birthday."

"I wish I could be there for that."

"It's alright. I really haven't thought too much about it." Riku grinned. "A birthday seems rather insignificant to a wedding."

Cloud made an amused noise. "You are _really _looking forward to this."

The younger one blew out a breath. "Seiya's a bad influence."

"Right," was the dry response. Cloud chuckled again. "You _are _going to do something with your friends for your birthday, right?"

"Yeah, we'll probably hit the beach for a bonfire or something."

"That sounds good." Cloud noted. "I should let you go. It's got to be getting late there."

"Not really."

"Uh-huh."

"I miss you." Riku tried not to sound too pathetic. He truly hated all the time he had to spend away from the love of his life. It had gotten so hard to be alone; he had taken to either staying at Sora's or having Sora stay with him.

Cloud's voice was soft. "I do, too. We've only got another month."

"I can't wait."

"Neither can I. I love you."

"Always," Riku returned, smiling. "Make sure you get some sleep."

"That goes for you, too."

"Night."

"Night."

The call disconnected and Riku pulled the phone from his ear to stare at it a moment. He sighed as he folded it, standing up. He pocketed the device and headed back inside.

Sora had been standing in the kitchen doorway and quickly darted out at Riku's appearance. The older teen frowned and glanced at Seiya, who was washing the dishes from dinner. The woman shrugged and gave him a look that clearly read _its Sora_.

Shrugging to himself, he walked over to stand beside Seiya. Even though she was nearly finished, he quietly asked. "Can I help?"

"No, sweetie;" She smiled, placing a plate in the drying rack. "How was your talk with Cloud? It didn't last very long."

Riku leaned against the counter. "He apologized for earlier."

"Well, of course he did. He loves you."

"I know." He grinned a bit. "He's trying so hard to make me happy and he keeps forgetting that I already am."

Setting the last plate in the rack, Seiya turned toward him. She gave him a serious look. "They'll work it out, Riku."

Riku understood who and what she was talking about; "I know they will."

Sora bounded back into the kitchen. "So what's for dessert?"

Riku snorted. "Don't you have school tomorrow?"

"So?"

"It's almost eleven." Seiya moved toward the pantry. "Have you finished your physic's project?"

Blue eyes widened before Sora smacked his forehead; "Crud! Riku, you have to help me!"

Folding his arms, Riku looked at him from beneath a veil of silver bangs. "Did you even start it?"

"Heh, of course I did!" Sora gave Riku a meaningful look, glancing at his mother. "I just need to finish it up."

Seiya sighed, opening the pantry door. "What are you going to do when Riku isn't here to bail you out next year?"

Pain flitted across Sora's features for a moment. "I don't _totally _depend on Riku."

Riku felt a twisting in his stomach. He had clearly seen the change in his best friend's expression and his words had held a faint tremor to them. He frowned a touch as concern slowly began to work its way into his mind.

"Of course you don't;" Seiya laughed. She removed a box of toasted rice from the cupboard. "Well, go do your project and _maybe_ I'll bring you both something as a snack."

Sora's eyes lit up. "Like maybe rice squares?"

"You won't know until you get some work done."

"Come on, Ku." The boy darted over and took Riku's hand, pulling him out of the kitchen.

Riku quietly followed Sora. The younger teen paused long enough to find his backpack, which he had thrown into the front room after school, and once it was located, they headed up the narrow staircase to Sora's room. Riku watched Sora carefully as they entered the bedroom.

Inside, Sora tossed his bag on his bed and followed it with himself. He groaned as he fell back on the mattress. "Ugh! I _hate_ physics! What do I even need it for?"

Riku shut the door and sat on the floor. "The principles of physics apply to almost everything you do, Sora. They're also really useful in fighting."

Sora lifted his head. "They are?"

"Yeah, cause and effect and trajectories, they all apply."

The younger teen sat up fully. "Huh, that makes sense. I should totally do my project on that!"

Riku grinned but it was troubled. "That should be easy for you to piece together. Just use your real experiences and apply the different theories to it."

"Yeah!" Sora excitedly dug through his bag and pulled out a thick book and binder. "That should be easy. I just have to remember what each of the theories are and…"

Riku tuned him out reaching with both hands to grip his own calves lightly. Sora's brief expression downstairs would not leave his thoughts. He had known that his entire life was about to change but it was not until that moment it had truly hit him.

"Hey, Sora...?"

The brunet stopped flipping pages and looked down at his best friend. As soon as he saw Riku's light frown, he knew this was going to get serious, "Yeah?"

Riku tilted his head, keeping it angled down. "What are you going to do once I'm gone?"

Sora stared at him a moment. He did not have an answer for that question. Honestly, he had been purposely avoiding the question. Leave it to Riku to force him to think about it.

The brunet shrugged a little. "I haven't really thought about it."

The pair fell silent for a brief span of time.

Sora bit his lip and picked at a thread on his bedspread. "It's gonna be weird not having you here."

"I hate the Islands." Riku stated softly. "For years now, I've simply been waiting to be able to leave and never have to come back. I won't miss this place but… I'm really going to miss _here_; this house, you and your mom, even the others."

Sora did not want to have this conversation. He laughed uneasily and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, well, you're getting Cloud twenty-four seven plus your brother and all the others instead. You'll be happier there; actually, you already are."

"Yeah, I am. I just didn't realize everything I was giving up in exchange." He suddenly shook out silver hair and forced a smile. He nudged his head toward Sora's books. "If we don't get started, we'll be up all night doing this."

"Right;" Sora returned to his text, turning a few paged before stopping. He flicked his blue eyes at his best friend. "I'm really happy for you, Riku."

"I don't doubt that." The older one replied. "I just… I need to be sure you're all right. I don't want you to think I'm abandoning you."

Sora frowned deeply. "I never thought that, Riku."

This statement seemed to be enough because Riku managed to look at Sora fully, and the faint smile he gave was genuine. Sora smiled back and reluctantly returned to his physics book. This was now officially the last thing he wanted to be doing after that conversation.

It did not take long for Sora to confuse himself completely and Riku had to join him on the bed to explain everything. An hour later, Seiya poked her head in, sighing heavily and placing a place of rice squares on the dresser. She simply told them to try and not be at it all night and left.

The sun was just beginning to rise when they finished.

There was no point trying to sleep by then because Sora would just have to be up again in an hour for school so he gathered some clothes and decided on a long shower to try to revive his body. Riku collected Sora's things and repacked his bag.

Once finished, he stood and stretched. Glancing around the room, he again felt that twisting in his chest. Leaving was going to be a lot harder than he thought.

With a sigh, he picked up Sora's backpack and brought it downstairs with him. He needed some coffee and he might as well make breakfast since he was up. After dropping the bag by the door, he pulled his phone from his pocket and flipped it open.

Cloud's lightly smiling face looked back at him and he grinned. He re-shut the phone and entered the kitchen. Despite how difficult leaving would be, it was completely worth it.


	2. Chapter 2

"Riku, wake up!"

The silvered teen groaned as he was pulled from his pleasant dream of Cloud and himself in their new house. All of their friends had been present, along with Sephiroth and a few faces he did not recognize, and they appeared to be having some kind of celebration. He had no idea what about.

Not opening his eyes, he threw an arm over his head. "This better be damn important, Sora."

"Well, I think your birthday is important."

Smiling a bit, the now eighteen-year-old cracked open one of his eyes, "I suppose it is."

Sora grinned happily as Riku sat up, sheets pooling around his waist, "Happy birthday, Ku."

"Thanks, Sor." Riku ran a few fingers through his sleep-tousled hair. "You just had to be the first one to say it."

"I always am, ever since you turned seven. I still remember how you stared at me when I said it when you came to the door for school that morning. I had always known your mother wasn't nice but I still can't believe she never acknowledged your birthday."

"Oh, she had her way of recognizing it." A very dark tone entered Riku's voice as memories of how he spent the nights of his birthday for the first fifteen years of his life flitted through his mind.

Sora bit his lip, wanting to ask what Riku meant but not bringing himself to. He could only imagine what strange things Riku had silently endured. He pushed through the odd moment that had formed, a thoughtful expression coming to him. "Man, I can't believe it's been eleven years since then."

"Time flies." The older teen commented, also breaking himself from the prior moment. He reached for his cell phone on the bedside table. "Plus you lost one of those years."

"True. That still bothers me sometimes." Blue eyes watched in amusement as Riku checked for any missed called or text messages. When Riku frowned and set the phone back, Sora calmly stated, "He's probably not even up. It's only ten-thirty here so that makes it…six-thirty there. Leon's probably just dragging his butt out of bed."

Sora was completely right but he still felt a little disappointed that there was not something waiting for him from his fiancé. Cloud could have sent a text the previous night, giving him something to wake up to… Of course that would have required forethought, which Cloud did very little of.

Sora tapped his leg. "Come on, get up. Mom's making your favorite and I'm hungry."

The brunet scrambled off the small bed and waited for Riku. The silvered one slipped out from under the blankets, straightening his boxers as he stood. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. "That bed is way too small."

"What?" Sora brushed past him and threw himself down on rumpled sheets. "It's perfect."

Riku stared at the carpet for a moment, "Sora? Stand up."

The boy lifted his head. He rolled off the mattress and stood up in one fluid motion. When he faced Riku, his eyes were greeted by upper chest and he blinked. "Oh."

"Yeah;" They shared a brief laugh before the taller of the pair pushed Sora toward the door. He grabbed his phone and they exited the room.

-0—0—

Seiya had Riku trapped in a fierce embrace nearly the moment he stepped into the kitchen. After loudly singing her personal favorite birthday song, she kissed his cheek and ordered him to sit and eat.

As breakfast went on, Riku kept eyeing his phone set in clear view on the table. Both Seiya and Sora noticed this but said nothing. At one point, Seiya glanced at her son with a touch of concern. He flicked his blue eyes at her and gave her an odd little smile as he continued eating his beignets.

"Well, what's the plan for today?" Seiya asked as she got up and began clearing the table.

"Tidus and Wakka want Riku and me to go to their blitzball game." Sora announced. "It starts at eleven."

"Oh, that'll be fun. They made sectionals, right?"

"Yeah," Sora watched Riku pick up his phone, stare at it for a moment and with a sigh, stand up. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Riku mumbled. "I'm going to grab a shower."

He did not wait for a reply. He turned and left the kitchen, slowly making his way upstairs. Despite how ridiculous he knew it was, he was completely freaking out that he had not heard from Cloud yet.

He knew that they were likely really busy and Cloud was never much of a morning person. He probably had not even fully awoken yet. Riku could picture the blond shuffling along with Leon on autopilot. Leon would be talking to him, trying to give him instructions and Cloud would simply make those absent little grunts of his.

Shaking his head at himself, he walked into Sora's room to get some of the clothes that he kept stashed there. There was absolutely nothing to worry about; He repeated this to himself as he set his phone on the dresser and left the room for his shower.

When he got out twenty minutes later, there were still no messages.

-0—0—

"Man! Did you see that save?" Tidus rushed up to Sora, grinning madly. "I can't _believe_ I pulled that off!"

"Yeah, that was awesome!" praised Sora, nearly as excited as the players leaving the stadium were. He hi-fived Wakka as the redhead came up. "One more game and you're totally in!"

"Ya," The older bliztball player nodded, glancing over Sora's shoulder. Riku stood off to the side, rather absently toying with his phone. "What's up with the birthday boy, man?"

"Cloud late calling him?" Tidus smirked.

"Actually, Cloud hasn't called or texted him all day." Sora informed them. "Riku isn't taking it too well."

"Really...?" Both of the other teenagers looked stunned. Tidus lifted a blond eyebrow. "On his birthday…? That can't be right."

Sora shrugged. "Something probably came up. If he doesn't contact him by tonight, then we should worry."

Wakka nodded his head to the side. "You'd know better than us. Riku's gotta be beside himself."

"He's…" Sora turned to study Riku a moment. The silvered one was flipping his phone open and closed in a steady pattern, "…Starting to lose it."

"Yeah;" Tidus clipped out in amusement. He broke away and walked toward his older friend. "Hey, man! Why don't you just call him?"

Riku shut the phone and pocketed it. "I don't want to bother him if he is busy and I'd know if something happened to him."

"Well, then quit worrying 'bout it; he'll call and if he doesn't," Tidus threw an arm around Riku's shoulders. "We'll sic Selphie after him."

The silvered one snorted but smiled. "Worlds help him."

"It'll take more that that, ya." Wakka laughed as he and Sora joined up with the other two.

Abruptly, the phone trilled and Riku frantically dug in his pocket. A hopeful look came to his face as he flipped it open and checked the text message he had just received. The excitement faded a bit and at Sora's raised eyebrow, he murmured, "Sephiroth."

"Well, at least your brother remembered your birthday." Tidus stated optimistically, dropping his arm.

"Yeah," Riku half-smiled. All of his friends had completely accepted his sibling even though both Tidus and Wakka had admitted that Sephiroth scared the hell out of them. He sent back a response and re-pocketed the phone.

The blond teen beside him pursed his lips. "So when are we supposed to meet up with the girls?"

"We're supposed to meet them at the dock at five." Sora looked at Riku. "What time is it now?"

"You need a watch," commented Riku, taking out his phone yet again. "Two."

Tidus ruffled his damp hair with a hand. "Alright, let's get food 'cause I'm starved and then we'll go hang out at my house for awhile before getting our stuff together and heading out."

Having no arguments, the other three fell in behind him.

-0—0—

By the time five o'clock rolled around, Riku was nearly beside himself. He had lost every round of the video games he was forced to play, too distracted to even really look at what was happening on the screen. He tried to focus on his friends, to enjoy simply hanging out with them while he could, but his thoughts kept wandering back to Cloud.

He felt pathetic for getting so upset that his fiancé had not contacted him yet but he could not help it. Of all the days for Cloud to be distracted or preoccupied by something, it had to be his birthday. At least he had heard from Sephiroth.

"Ku;" Sora barked out, snapping Riku from his thoughts. Tidus and Wakka had disappeared and the brunet was frowning deeply. "You know Cloud would never purposely blow you off."

"I know," Riku flicked some bangs from his face. "That's what has me worried."

"I'm sure you'll be hearing from him soon." Sora assured him easily. "Come on, it's time to head for the play island."

"Yeah;" He climbed to his feet and followed the shorter teen out.

Tidus and Wakka had already gathered the gear they needed to bring. They waited for the other two to reach the doorway then began delegating who was carrying what. After the items were divvied up, they headed out the door.

Upon reaching the sidewalk, Sora's phone rang once. He did not move to answer it and got an odd smile. It was gone almost as soon as it appeared.

A moment later, Riku's beeped. The silvered one shifted the pack he held and slipped the device free of his pocket. The second he saw the display, a relieved look came to his face and he smiled fully for the first time since breakfast.

As he opened the phone to check the message, Sora smirked. "See? I told you."

Riku nodded absently, reading over the very brief text. It was not much, just a simple 'happy birthday' and apology for it being so late, along with the explanation that he had been out of reach. Riku had no idea how Cloud could have been out of reach but it did not matter.

He closed the phone, deciding he would reply later. Feeling infinitely happier, he pocketed it and began walking. "Let's go, guys."

The walk to the docks went quickly, the four friends chatting and picking on one another as they passed through town. A few shop owners waved at them, some of them who had come to know Riku rather well gave him birthday wishes.

Kairi and Selphie were waiting impatiently for them, peculiar smiles on their faces. Selphie seemed to be particularly bouncy as the boys approached. When they were within ten feet, the brunette girl broke away and tackled Riku.

"Happy, happy birthday!" She nearly screamed in his ear. He winced a little at it but managed to give her a half-embrace. "Oh! You are _so_ going to love your present!"

"I'm sure I will," Riku lightly chucked.

Selphie detached herself from him and bounded back toward Kairi. "Well, come on! Time's a wastin'!"

Riku lifted an eyebrow at Kairi as they began loading the boats. "She's excited."

"Well, of course." Kairi grinned, taking her turn to catch her older best friend in a tight hug. "It's your eighteenth birthday and probably the last one we'll all be together for. That's why we're going to make it the best one ever!"

"Come on!" Selphie called from Tidus' boat. Sora and Wakka had already departed.

"Looks like it's you and me, Kai;" Riku waved the girl into her awaiting boat.

She curtsied in mock seriousness and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like _for now._ Riku narrowed his eyes and almost asked her to repeat what she said but decided it was not worth it. He followed her into the boat and automatically took the oars.

As he rowed, Kairi watched him with an oddly thoughtful look. Just when he was ready to ask what she was doing, she leaned back and folded her hands in her lap. "It's going to be strange having you gone again."

"Again?"

"Yeah, I did remember you that year Sora was sleeping."

"Oh, right." Riku had forgotten that Kairi had already experienced life without him and, though she did not really remember him, Sora. At least he did not have to worry about her.

She suddenly giggled and he looked at her in confusion. "I was wondering when you were going to start worrying about leaving us."

Riku blew out a breath, not arguing. "I'm not so much worried as…I don't know. I know I'm going to miss you guys terribly."

"…But it's worth it." Kairi smiled knowingly. "Cloud is where your heart is."

"Yeah," he agreed softly. "He offered to move here but… I know he wouldn't be content here and I honestly don't want to stay."

Kairi nodded in understanding, tucking some reddish hair behind her ear. "Well, King Mickey has already said that we're allowed to visit back and forth whenever we want now so I'm not worried."

"I'm not either." They were almost to the small island now. Selphie and Tidus had already reached it and Selphie had leapt out the side and was racing off toward the shack. "Where does she think she's going?"

Kairi looked over and shrugged. There was something fake about her gesture of ignorance. "It's Selphie."

Riku let it go and brought the boat up to the far side of the others, Kairi climbing out to help guide it into the sand. Wakka had come over to help Tidus unload and nodded to the pair. "We pretty much got everything set up in the cove."

"Why over there?" Riku asked, removing as much of the supplies as he could from the boat. Kairi took the rest and the four made their way across the sand.

"That's where Sora wanted to set up." Tidus replied dismissively. They passed the shack and Selphie's giggling drifted toward them. "She is way too noisy."

"Is she talking to someone in there?" Riku swore he heard quiet voices. Something also began tugging at his awareness.

"Sora's in there, ya." Wakka spoke in a slightly raised voice. "You know how those two get."

Riku still glanced at the small wooden building as they passed. There was something very different feeling coming from it. It was familiar yet notably out of place making it hard to identify.

The group entered the cove where camp had indeed been largely made up. They dropped the remaining supplies and Tidus and Kairi got to work on starting the bonfire. Wakka finished arranging a few things and Riku ended up just hanging back.

"Hey, guys!" Selphie suddenly reappeared, obnoxiously bright smile on her face. She skipped over to the site and gave Riku a horribly suspicious look. "Ku, Sora needs you in the shack."

Aqua eyes narrowed a bit. Obviously, something was up and he was not certain he was going to like it. He really did not care for surprises. "Okay."

He left the camp and walked back around to the front of the structure. That tugging became increasingly stronger and familiar. Pausing before the door, he realized what it was.

It couldn't be…

He quickly shoved open the door and instead of blue eyes and brown spiky hair, he was greeted by blue eyes and blond spiky hair. He stared in shock for a whole second before bolting forward and throwing his arms around the most important person in his life. He simply could not believe this.

"You're here." He murmured into Cloud's ear, voice slightly choked.

Cloud brought his hands up to rest against the small of Riku's back. "You really think I'd miss your birthday?"

Riku pulled away enough to draw Cloud into an intense, almost desperate kiss. It had been far too long since he felt this. At this moment, he felt more complete than he had since the last time he left Radiant Garden.

There was a faint clearing of throat and Riku reluctantly drew away from Cloud's mouth. He glanced to the side where Sora, Seiya, and Leon were gathered at the foot of the stairs. Seiya was beaming, Leon was smirking, and Sora simply grinned.

"Happy birthday, Ku."


	3. Chapter 3

With arms wrapped around one another's waists, Riku lead Cloud out of the shack. Sora, Leon and Seiya followed them, Seiya gushing on about how excited she was to have finally met both Cloud and Leon. Sora simply seemed happy that his surprise had worked.

Cloud wore a light weight grey shirt with loose pants and sandals, walking across the sand easily. Riku could not help but notice how comfortable his lover seemed to be. One would think that he was a native despite the pale skin. Riku's skin was just as light colored and he was a native.

As they approached the party site, Riku glanced behind him. Leon had forgone all of his leather in favor of jeans and one of his usual white t-shirts. He wasn't even wearing his heavy shoes; he was wearing sneakers instead. "I can't believe you guys came all the way out here."

Sora chuckled and pointed at Leon. "It was actually his idea. He called me a week ago and said he wanted to bring Cloud here so we got it all arranged with Mom and the others."

Riku smiled happily at the sable-haired man. "Thank you. I know how much you hate leaving the restoration."

"You're welcome," Leon nodded. "It never would have happened if Sephiroth hadn't volunteered to oversee things and the others hadn't agreed to it."

The silvered teen's expression somehow grew even brighter. Leon was trusting Sephiroth with something that meant more to the former SeeD than anything. The Restoration was Leon's entire life and the fact that he left it in Sephiroth's hands was an enormous thing.

"Hurry up, guys!" Selphie called out from the far end of camp where a fire had been started. "Tidus is getting bored!"

The named blond tapped her arm. "I am not! You're the one agonizing over how long we can force Riku and Cloud to stay with the rest of us!"

Riku looked at the girl, affronted. "What has Sora been telling you?"

"Oh, little this, little that." Selphie grinned wickedly as they got closer. "Remind me to set up cameras in your house later today."

Riku opened his mouth but quickly shut it and shook his head. He held onto Cloud tighter and brought the man over to Tidus and Wakka. He was nearly shaking with joy as he officially introduced the rest of his friends to his fiancé.

Sora, Leon and Seiya joined up with Kairi on the blankets, shooting amused glances at Riku and Cloud. The auburn-haired girl giggled and tucked some hair behind her ear. "Sometimes I think he's more girlish than me or Selphie."

"I think it's sweet," Seiya sat with her legs folded beside her. "Cloud is such a wonderful man. I'm glad to have finally met him!"

She twisted her upper body to look beside her. "Oh, and of course you too, Leon! Sora talks so much about you, it's a shame things didn't work, but I can see why they didn't. The two of you just don't… mesh."

Sora blushed a bit and exchanged a quick look with Leon. "Yeah, well, it was worth the attempt."

Leon nodded and rubbed the teen's arm affectionately. As he did, he changed the subject of conversation. "So are you all going to be able to make the wedding?"

"I think so," Kairi glanced over at Riku, Cloud, Selphie, Tidus and Wakka over at the fire. "We're still working on Selphie and Tidus."

Leon angled his head. "What are you telling them?"

"I'm taking them on a trip to Besaid. It's the cluster where I grew up." Seiya rubbed at her bare feet. "Tidus' dad is worried that he won't be back in time for the start of blitz practice but since there's a big team at the college over there, it shouldn't be hard to convince him.

"Selphie's parents don't much like me, however, which is what's causing the uncertainty with her. Selph seems to think they'll come around though."

"Oh, I'll make them!" Selphie announced confidently, coming to the blanket with the others behind her. "I'll just go anyway if I have to. There is no way I am missing my bishie in a wedding dress!"

Riku blinked and narrowed his eyes. "Wait, when did that idea ever enter the picture?"

"Oh, come on!" Selphie dropped down beside Kairi. "It would be totally hot if one of you wore a dress and since you're the girl, it has to be you, Ku."

"Why am I the girl?"

"Oh, please," Selphie rolled her eyes. Next to her, Kairi giggled. "Look at you! You are totally uke."

"Okay, we need to change topics like now," declared Tidus, setting the large platter of cooked fish, crab and clam in the center of the forming circle of people. "I don't need to be hearing anymore than I have about any of your sex lives."

"Ya man," Wakka seconded. The two blitzball players took up spots on the blanket. "It's weird enough already that Riku's gettin' married."

"Well, he always has been the first of us in most things," Kairi shrugged as she picked up a roasted fish. "It shouldn't be that surprising."

Sora abruptly laughed, nearly choking on his soda as he did. "You know what's funny? Every time you girls made us play house when we were little, you always made Riku the priest. It's like you somehow knew he was gay."

Selphie laughed, "Because we do! It's like a sixth sense."

"No, you don't," Cloud countered softly. Riku was snuggled up against him, idly picking apart a kabob of vegetables. "Tifa didn't figure out I was gay until I flat out told her, and even then she didn't want to believe it."

"According to Cid, you were completely wasted at the time," Leon noted. "I would have been suspicious of anything you said also."

"So," Seiya broke the conversation. "Do we have anything actually planned for the evening?"

Sora and Kairi shrugged. Kairi flicked her dark blue eyes at Riku and Cloud where Riku was nuzzling into Cloud's neck. "Well, we weren't sure what was going to happen with the lovebirds over there, so we just figured we'd leave it at the bonfire and see what happens."

Riku rolled his eyes and pulled away from his lover with an exaggerated sigh. "It's my birthday so if I want to just sit here and make out with Cloud I can."

"Of course, sweetie," Seiya smiled sweetly. "You can do anything you want with him. We'll just take Leon with us and go eat your cake without you."

The silvered teen gave her a pained look. "Oh, now you're just being cruel, Seiya."

She chuckled and reached for a clam. Leon smirked at the woman, clearly deciding he was going to like her. Tidus and Wakka snickered while Kairi, Sora and Selphie started up a whispered conversation.

The next twenty minutes passed rather quietly. Kairi and Sora continued the hushed conversation but Selphie and eventually Tidus somehow engaged Leon in a discussion about college. Seiya and Wakka cleaned up the remains of dinner, letting the birthday boy and his lover just sit back and enjoy the moment.

Cloud pressed his nose to Riku's cheek and the teen grinned, rubbing his hand along the man's leg. "I can't believe you came."

The blond smirked against Riku's skin. "Of course I did; I was ready to go the second Leon suggested it."

Riku turned his head to look at Cloud directly. "I'm glad he trusts Sephiroth enough to leave him in charge for a while."

Cloud's expression tensed at the man's name but he quickly banished it. He leaned back a bit and reached into a pocket. "On that subject, your brother gave me something to give to you."

Riku smiled at Cloud's use of the term brother. It showed that Cloud was truly doing his best to accept Riku's relationship to the former general and bane to Cloud's existence. He really hoped that by the time of the wedding, the two would at least be amicable with each other.

"Here," Cloud handed him a double folded piece of paper. He watched as the teen carefully opened it up and began reading.

Riku's eyes scanned the short hand-written note, his aqua eyes getting brighter. He grinned more for a moment before re-folding it and slipping it into his own pocket. He then pressed himself back up against Cloud and laced their fingers together.

Seiya and Sora both got up and left camp, heading for the shack. Riku assumed they were going for his birthday cake and grinned at Cloud happily. "Well, now you and Leon get to actually taste one of Seiya's famous cakes."

"I think it's so cool that you guys are having her make your wedding cake!" Selphie bit her lip happily. "Have you figured out what exactly you want?"

"Well, I know what I would like," Riku shrugged. "But Cloud needs to make up his mind."

"I told you whatever you want is fine," the blond declared softly.

Leon, Tidus and Wakka chuckled. Wakka shook his head and smirked. "Spoken like a whipped husband, ya."

"Oh, don't worry," Kairi glanced over Riku's shoulder. "Seiya has a plan for that reply."

Lifting an eyebrow, both Riku and Cloud looked back. Seiya and Sora were returning, each carrying a large tray with what appeared to be four different cakes on each of them. The mother and son walked easily across the sand with their burden.

Leon whistled lowly. "Wow."

Riku sighed and dropped his head against Cloud's shoulder. "She really didn't have to…"

"Yes, she did," countered Kairi, getting on her knees to take out small plates and forks from a nearby bag. "Doing your wedding cake is huge to her. You are just as much her son as Sora is."

Seiya smiled brightly as she and Sora reached the blanket. They carefully set the trays down and she immediately began pointing at each of the small cakes. "Okay, so, since I don't know what kind of cake Cloud likes, I decided this was the perfect time to find out. We have chocolate, vanilla, lemon, strawberry, red velvet, devil's food, coconut, and angel food."

"I can't believe you did this, Seiya," Riku worried his lower lip.

"Oh, don't be silly!" The petite woman took the knife Tidus handed her and began cutting up pieces. "Most of them have the same base so it wasn't difficult. It's important that both of you enjoy your cake and this is the best way to find out what I should make."

Cloud looked completely overwhelmed. "This wasn't necessary, Seiya. I could have-"

She cut him off by thrusting a plate with four small slices of cake on it. "Eat."

The blond blinked once then took the plate. "Yes, ma'am."

The others snickered and laughed, getting their own little samplings of cake.

-0—0—

The sun was already nearly set as Sora, Riku, Seiya, Cloud and Leon walked down the road to Riku's house. Kairi, Selphie, Tidus and Wakka had split off from them just outside of downtown, making sure before they did that Sora and Leon were hanging out with them the next day.

They did not bother to include the engaged couple.

Riku kept his fingers laced tightly with Cloud's as they walked behind the other three. He kept shooting glances at the older man, simply letting his eyes drink in the sight of one of the most important people in his life.

"Riku."

Aqua eyes turned forward to catch Sora smirking at him. "What?"

"I said Leon is going to stay with me and Mom so you and Cloud can have your house all to yourselves."

Riku chuckled, "How generous of you."

"It's not toward you," Leon commented easily. "He's sparing me the noise since I'm the one who always has to listen to you two back home."

"Oh, well, in that case…"

The sable-haired man glanced behind him and gave his own smirk.

They were a few houses down from Riku's and Seiya began walking backwards. "Whenever the two of you are up to it tomorrow, I need to go over a few things with you for the wedding."

"Sure," Riku agreed as Cloud nodded.

She smiled excitedly as she moved toward them and threw her arms around them. They stopped to let her, only a few feet from the path up to the house. When she released them, she patted both of their faces. "I'm so happy for you two."

"Why do I have the feeling we're going to be hearing that a lot over the next couple of months?" Cloud murmured with a faint smile.

"Okay," Seiya flounced away. "You two go have fun. Try to make sure my boy can walk tomorrow, Cloud."

"Mom!" Sora rolled his eyes.

Riku laughed, tugging Cloud up the walk. "Meh, I'll just make him carry me around."

"That works, too," the woman winked. "Happy birthday, baby."

"Yeah," Sora seconded, giving a brief wave. Leon nodded.

The freshly turned eighteen-year-old smiled at the three of them gratefully. "Thank you, guys. I really mean that. This has been… amazing."

Sora grinned. "Anything for you, Ku."

The three headed down the street and Riku turned back to his lover. The corner of Cloud's lip curled up a bit. Slipping his arm around the teen's narrow waist, he tugged him close.

In response Riku lifted his arms to drape them over Cloud's shoulders. "So, do I finally get to play with my present?"

"Out here in the yard?"

Riku snorted, guiding Cloud backwards toward the house. "Like my neighbors haven't had enough to talk about."

He dropped one hand to open the door, the fingers of the other one toying with the back of Cloud's neck. He lightly pushed the blond into it, Cloud half-falling through. Riku then kicked it closed and immediately found himself pressed up against it.

Cloud's hand came up to frame Riku's, engaging the slightly taller male in a desperate kiss. Riku hurriedly ran his fingertips along the blond's waist, shoving fabric out of his way as he brought his hands forward and began tugging at Cloud's belt. The younger one moaned softly as Cloud moved his lips away from his mouth and along his jaw.

Gripping Cloud's hips tightly, Riku guided Cloud back, keeping their bodies close and taking his turn to trace along his lover's lower cheek and back to just below his ear. He kept his mouth there, kissing and nibbling as he managed to maneuver Cloud to his bedroom. As this was happening, Cloud was already unfastening the teen's pants.

Stumbling into the room, Riku released Cloud's neck. The two men worked frantically to strip one another of clothing, all the while awkwardly making their way over to the bed. In between pieces of clothes there were rushed caresses and deep, needy kisses.

Sliding his hands down to push off Riku's jeans, Cloud bit at his shoulder. The teen groaned in reaction, digging his nails into the man's back. "Do you have any idea how badly I've been wanting this?"

Riku ran a hand along Cloud's spine, down to the end. "Not nearly as bad as I have…" He abruptly brought his hand around to smooth it along Cloud's inner thigh. "I'm the one with the teenaged libido."

Cloud let out a moan as long fingers brushed further in. He pushed at Riku's shoulder, causing the teen to fall back on the bed. The blond stared down at him, taking a moment to look over the naked body of the man he had missed more than anything or anyone in his life.

The silvered one smirked back up at him. "What?"

Instead of responding with words, Cloud simply dropped down to his knees, holding Riku's apart and began kissing his way up from Riku's knee to in between his legs. Riku arched back from the mattress, hands fisting the sheets. Cloud did not rush, almost casually working his mouth along Riku's erection which never failed to drive both of them crazy. He was soon writhing and panting, one hand coming up to tangle his fingers in blond spikes of hair.

When Cloud decided his lover had had enough he released him, chuckling at Riku's whimper of protest. He climbed up on to the bed, straddling the younger man long enough to lean forward and engaged him in a long kiss. He moved it along Riku's cheek as the teen became slightly distracted with taking out some lube from the nightstand.

Riku took advantage of the position they were now in, brushing wet fingers along Cloud's waist and then wrapping his left hand around the blond's hardened flesh. Cloud gasped, almost biting into Riku's neck before moving his head to rest on Riku's shoulder. He let Riku work him for a few minutes, grunting and murmuring against the taller male's skin.

When the need became too great, he pulled away and dropped a very quick kiss on Riku's lips. He then moved his body down, settling himself between Riku's legs. On his own knees, Cloud brought on of Riku's legs up and Riku automatically repositioned himself. Once both of them were placed were they wanted to be and properly prepared, Cloud fixed his eyes upon Riku.

The eighteen-year-old gazed back at him with pure desperation, aqua eyes begging to be taken. Cloud nearly worshiped this expression and he drank it in until Riku quietly pleaded him to do something. The blond smiled and with only partially restrained eagerness, pushed himself inside of the other.

Riku threw his head back, moaning out loudly in ecstasy. It had been too long since he had felt this. His one hand tightened against his own upraised thigh as the free one dug into the sheets.

Once settled in, Cloud took a few careful thrusts before starting up a steady pace. He never took his blue eyes off of Riku's face, needing to see every expression, every emotion that flitted across that perfect face. Every once in a while he would slightly change his approach and Riku reacted spectacularly.

They fell into a rhythm that was all their own. Breath came in gasps and heavy pants as hands occasionally wandered and the couple exchanged a pattern of thrusts and withdrawals, moans and whispers crying for more. The pace speed up and tension built until they both finally could not hold back anymore and found blissful release.

Riku's leg slid off of Cloud's sweaty shoulder and he lay on the bed limply, breath coming in short bursts. After a moment, Cloud dropped his body heavily beside him. Somehow Riku found the energy to turn on his side and lifted his head enough for Cloud to slip his arm beneath it.

Snuggling into his side, he placed a hand on Cloud's lower chest and his ear close enough to hear the man's heartbeat. Cloud idly petted his hair, sighing in contentment. Sleep began pulling at him but he fought against it, not wanting to lose any of this long-awaited for moment.

However, it proved to be a futile effort and he found himself slowly drifting off. As he did, he heard Cloud softly whisper, "Happy birthday, Riku."


	4. Chapter 4

Riku stirred slightly, extremely reluctant to fully awaken. He was snuggled up close to Cloud and the last thing he wanted to do was leave that amazing warmth of Cloud's that both surrounded and penetrated his body. At the moment, even the prospect of another round of sex was not enough to make him want to move.

Then again, they had ended up going at it four times over the course of the night.

Without opening his eyes, Riku could tell that Cloud was also turned on his side facing him. This was an unusual position for him as the older man normally slept on his back. One arm was wrapped tightly around Riku's waist in a rather possessive manner.

"Go back to sleep," Cloud quietly murmured, arm tightening a bit.

Humming lightly, Riku attempted to bury himself further into his lover's warmth. "I was thinking about it."

"Thinking only makes you wake up more."

"I know."

Cloud shifted some and Riku placed his own arm along the blond's waist. He then slipped his knee between the man's legs. There was nothing overly suggestive about it, he simply wanted to be as close to Cloud as he could get.

"Any idea what time it is?"

Riku buried his face into the crook of Cloud's neck. "Don't wanna think about it."

"Heh, you sound like me." Cloud idly stroked a finger along the back of Riku's neck.

"Not my fault I don't want you to leave me ever again."

"I'm not, Riku." Cloud squeezed his lover's shoulder. "We're getting married in two months, remember?"

"Fifty-seven days," Riku clarified. "Not that I'm counting them down or anything."

The older male laughed richly. He truly did not have words for how incredibly light Riku made him feel. "Of course not. That would be very girly."

"Very." Riku lifted his head a bit. There was a sad quality to his aqua eyes. "And that isn't what I meant anyway. I just don't want you to go back."

With an understanding smile, Cloud placed a light kiss upon the other's lips. "Yeah, I know what you meant. I don't want to go either."

The corner of Riku's mouth turned up in a weak smile. After a moment, he shook himself from the slight depression. Very reluctantly, he pulled a little away. "We're not talking about this anymore. We have two days so let's make the best of them."

"Translation: you're hungry."

"Well, we did spend nearly all night having sex." Riku smirked. "And I didn't eat very much yesterday."

"I noticed." Cloud sat up and stretched his back. "You have been eating, right?"

"Yeah, Seiya takes good care of me." Riku also brought himself upright. "Actually, depending on what time it is, we should just head over there so she can feed us and we can handle whatever wedding stuff we need to."

"We may want to clean up first." Cloud observed, noticing he was sticking a bit to the sheets and if he was having that issue, Riku would definitely be worse off.

"Mmm," Riku leaned over and licked his fiancé's earlobe. "A long, hot shower sounds really.." he paused and whispered, "nice."

Making a noise in the back of his throat, Cloud quietly asked, "Does it?"

Riku slipped out of bed, the dim light escaping the closed curtains softly highlighting his pale skin. He took hold of Cloud's hand and slowly pulled him toward him. "Mm hmm. Get you all lathered up and wash your hair."

"I like when you wash my hair." The blond let himself be pulled from the bed. In the back of his mind, he decided he was extremely thankful for his high stamina. He had always been rather insatiable when it came to sex and Riku was at least as bad, if not worse.

"Oh, I know you do." Riku grinned wickedly. He tugged Cloud's body against his, relishing the feeling of their forms pressed together. He ever-so-lightly thrust his hips into his lover's, making sure the older man was able to feel how much he enjoyed being the one to wash Cloud's spiky hair.

Cloud groaned softly. With a short breath, he turned and pushed Riku toward the bedroom door. "Shower. Now."

-0—0—

They arrived at Sora's house a little over an hour later. The walk over had been casual and, to Riku's relief, uneventful. While he did not care what anyone else thought of him, he already tended to draw too much attention and walking down the street hand-in-hand with another man would not help that.

When Sephiroth was here the first time, it had been literally impossible to go anywhere without getting looked at. After a few days, they had resorted to keeping to the shadows as much as possible but even that did not help. If anything, it only made it worse because people would wonder where they had come from when they arrived to wherever they had to be.

Upon opening the front door of Sora's small home, they were greeted by Sora's loud laughter. Leon's amused chuckle could just be heard beneath it. Riku glanced at Cloud. "I'm not sure I want to know."

"I do. Leon laughing is a pretty rare thing."

"Not as rare as it is for you, Cloud." Leon appeared in the short hallway leading from the kitchen. There was a very relaxed quality to him and his eyes were bright. He smirked as he passed the couple. "And Sora is going to _tear_ into Riku when he makes his best man toast."

The silver-haired young man lifted a concerned eyebrow. He then released Cloud's hand and brushed past Leon. "Sora! You are _not_ saying anything at my wedding unless I approve it first!"

As he entered the kitchen, Sora laughed again. "Why? You afraid I'm gonna tell everyone about what happened in the locker room when you were in seventh grade and I had to come and-"

"Don't you dare!" Riku paled. He pointed at his best friend, face panicked. "You swore we'd never speak of that!"

"Speak of what?" Cloud asked from behind his lover, now morbidly curious.

"Nothing," Sora nearly sang. He smiled obnoxiously at Riku, clearly indicating that he would come back to whatever it was he had on the older teen later. "Mom made up two plates for you guys which are in the fridge. She should be back in a few minutes, had to run down the street for something."

Riku still looked uneasy but he went over to the fridge and removed the two plates Sora talked about. It was nearly two in the afternoon so the food was sandwiches with a side of fruit. He set them on the counter to remove the plastic wrap before bringing them to the table.

Cloud took a seat beside Sora, who was finishing up his glass of juice. As Riku came back over and placed one of the plates in front of him, he looked to Sora. "Any idea what your mother wants from us today?"

"No idea." The sixteen-year-old stood to put his glass in the sink. "She's been so busy fussing over Leon that she hasn't even mentioned the two of you until this morning."

"Has she tried getting you guys back together yet?"

"Thankfully, no." They could hear the gratefulness in his voice. "Don't get me wrong or anything, I'm glad what happened did but we just don't…mesh. We make much better friends."

The back sliding door opened and Seiya stepped in. She smiled brightly at Riku and Cloud. "How was your night?"

"Amazing," Riku stated simply, popping a grape into his mouth.

"Good, good." The brunette woman entered the actual kitchen space. "I just talked to Miss Sarah down the street. She's going to help me design the cake and she has a few things that she says you absolutely have to do in order to have a happy and healthy marriage."

Riku groaned, finishing chewing his mouthful of sandwich. "Seiya, I love you and always wished you were my own mother but…did you have to get her involved?"

"Yes. She's been involved in every Islander's wedding whether it takes place here or somewhere else for decades."

Cloud looked between them with a frown. "Who's Miss Sarah?"

"She's one of the oldest women on the island," explained Riku. "Her family is one of those that kept all the old traditions and stuff. I think they're descended from the original people or something. Either way, if you want to know anything about the culture and all of that of the island, she's the one to go to."

"People come to her when they're getting married to have the union blessed," Seiya continued, getting herself a glass of water. "And no offense to either of you, but you need all the blessings you can get."

Riku shot a look at Cloud. The couple shrugged, knowing that they really did not have much of an argument against the point. The odds had always been against them but they were determined to beat them.

"Are we going to have to see her?" Cloud asked, picking at a corner of his sandwich. While he had nothing against a few superstitious traditions, he did not relish the thought of doing them for what sounded like an old bat… even if she was a nice old bat.

Seiya chuckled, bringing herself to the table and sitting in the empty seat beside the blond. "No, everything is for the actual day of the wedding. Oh, and two things for the night before."

Riku narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Such as?"

"Oh, nothing terrible." The woman made an apprehensive glance at Cloud. "I'll give you all the details when it's closer to the event."

Cloud caught this look and frowned deeply. "Why do I have the feeling I'm going to hate this?"

"Because you probably will," Leon replied, strolling into the kitchen. He crossed the tile to lean against the edge of the counter next to the glass back door. "But you'll do it anyway because Riku wants the whole damn show and you're whipped like that."

"It's not a show," protested Riku, coming as close to a pout as any of them had seen from him. "It's a wedding and I told you the girls would never forgive us if we didn't have one. I'm totally fine with just eloping."

"Sure you are," said Cloud placatedly while both Leon and Sora snorted. "We'll just hop on the gummi and head to Port Royal-"

"Dude!" Sora exclaimed. "That would be totally awesome if you guys had Jack marry you!"

"I'm not being married by a pirate," Riku stated flatly.

"Actually." Seiya laced her fingers together on the tabletop. "That brings up a point I want to ask about. Who _is_ going to officiate?"

"Uh, well…" Riku and Cloud exchanged brief looks. "We're still kinda working on that."

"You have less than two months," noted Leon, expression and tone indicating that he was not surprised that the couple had not handled that rather vital element. "I thought you decided to ask King Mickey. You haven't yet?"

Cloud smirked at Riku. "Tell them, Riku."

The eighteen-year-old sighed as if realizing how stupid he was about to sound. "I wasn't sure I wanted to bother him with it."

"What?" Sora shouted as Leon threw his head back in a gesture that clearly read he should have known it was something like this. "Oh, come on, Ku! You know that the king would do absolutely anything for you!"

"I know." Riku breathed out. "But that doesn't mean we should take advantage of that. He has a whole kingdom to rule, my wedding is a pretty minor thing in the grand scheme of things."

"Not to him it won't be." Leon folded his arms. "And you know as well as I do that he'll be extremely hurt if you don't ask him."

"Yeah," the silvered male agreed. He flicked his eyes toward Cloud. "We'll call him later today."

"We?" The blond frowned. "When did this become a 'we' activity? He's your friend."

Seiya chuckled, reaching over to pat Cloud's hand. "You became a 'we' the moment you proposed, honey. Get used to it."

Cloud pursed his lips and glanced at Riku. After a moment, he gave the younger man that faint smile of his and shrugged a bit. Obviously, he did not mind that fact at all.

"Okay, now that that's settled, moving on!" Seiya leaned back in her chair. "Sora and Leon gave me the brief rundown on everything last night but I still have a few questions."

Nodding, Riku reached over and took hold of Cloud's hand. The blond lifted it to kiss the youth's knuckles. They shared a brief look before their joined hands again dropped to rest on the table. "Okay, shoot."

-0—0—

Three hours went by before Seiya was satisfied with her information. As the couple detailed as much as they could, with Sora and Leon throwing in the details that they missed, she listened attentively. All four males were nearly certain that she was carefully filing away every word they said in the back of her mind. The woman would also likely remember all of it.

"All right." She clapped her hands once. "Now that I know exactly what's been done, I have a list of things that still need to be settled upon. Sora, dear, go get my journal."

The brunet teenager sighed and stood up. "Do me and Leon have to stay for all of this?"

"Yes." Riku and Cloud stated at the same time.

Cloud gave his best friend a look. "Especially Leon."

"You are always going to hold it against me that I had to work when you did all of this with Aerith, aren't you?"

"Damn right I am." Cloud muttered. "If I have to put up with all of this wedding stuff on top of dealing with everything else, you can at least help with this part."

Riku looked at his fiancé. While Cloud was also involved in the restoration effort, he had very little to do with any of the actual planning or anything of the like. He was pretty much manual labor there. "Dealing with what other stuff?"

"Don't worry about it." Bright blue eyes settled upon the glass sliding door. "It's nothing."

Something about Cloud's tone of voice set Riku on edge. "No, Cloud. What are you talking about?"

"It isn't anything you should be worried about. It's my problem."

Riku closed his eyes, feeling his anger rise up. Cloud was being evasive which told him exactly what this was about. "I thought we had this settled."

"We do," Cloud ground out. "He's your brother and I just have to deal with it. I have to deal with the fact that he's always going to be around, always going to be involved in anything we do, has to be a part of our life together-"

"What the hell, Cloud?" The silvered teen shouted. "Yeah, Sephiroth is my brother but that doesn't mean he's going to be involved in everything we do! He isn't going to always be around. You're marrying _me_ not my brother!"

The other three in the room glanced between the couple. This entire argument had come out of the blue. While it was not terribly surprising to Leon or Sora, the general tone of it was. Seiya, while she knew there was animosity between Cloud and Riku's brother, had no idea just how severe it was. Sora had mentioned it being a potential problem; this was her first actual exposure to it.

"I know that but do you really think he's going to be content to just let us live our lives?" Cloud snapped back. "No, he's going to find ways to constantly be in a position where he can cause me the most suffering."

Running a hand through his hair, Riku growled in frustration. "Why is it that it's always about _you_ when it comes to him? Are you really that arrogant to think that you are the only thing that matters to him? Maybe, _just maybe_, Sephiroth agreeing to be in our wedding has _nothing_ to do with you! Maybe he wants me, his brother who loves him unconditionally, to be happy!"

Cloud breathed out slowly. "I'm sure that's part of it."

"But you're still convinced that he has some hidden plan to make you miserable."

"It's not hidden!" exclaimed the older man. "He's already done it! He knows that just by being there I'm going to be miserable!"

Riku laughed bitterly. "Oh, I cannot believe this!"

"I'm sorry." Cloud stood up angrily. "I'm completely wrong and have no justification for my opinion at all! I'll just keep my mouth shut and let you do whatever you want like the obedient puppet that I am!"

He stalked down the hall and after a moment they heard the door open and slam.

Riku clenched his jaw, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. He did not have words for how heart-broken and furious and scared he was at that very moment. He had hoped so badly that Cloud and Sephiroth would be able to work something out, come to some kind of understanding. Maybe there really was too much damage between them; maybe Cloud never would be able to let go.

_Let the traitor go, Child._

"I can't," he whispered, earning confused looks from Leon, Sora and Seiya. He wiped angrily at his eyes and stood. There had to be a way to make this work. He flat out refused to choose between two of the most important people in his life.

Without a single word to the others, he left through the back door.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been two hours since Cloud had stormed out of Sora's kitchen. Riku had spent an hour of that wandering the neighborhood. He did not try to find Cloud, knowing that they both needed some space at that time. The last thing their relationship needed was for them to start shouting at one another in anger. They did not argue much but when they did, both were quite adept at finding the most hurtful things to say.

For the second hour, he walked between Sora's home and his own small house. Cloud had a very good sense of direction and Riku did not doubt that no matter what direction his lover had gone, he would be able to find his way back to one of the two houses. He kept the thought that Cloud would not return far in the back of his mind; Cloud always came back just as Riku did.

Thankfully, outside of her initial words, Jenova had kept quiet. He could still feel her stirring but she seemed content to let him be. Maybe she figured this relationship was already doomed and she was not going to have to do a thing to help it along. He knew eventually there was likely to be a rather bad episode with her but for now he was simply glad for the peace he had.

Night had finished its descent and the steady noise of insects filled his ears as he began his next circuit from his house to Sora's. The streets were empty, the houses he passed lit up from the inside as their occupants settled in for the night. It was peaceful and Riku felt in uncommon ache tug at his heart.

He supposed it said something that the twilight and first hour of full night was his favorite time of the day. He did not see the darkening of the sky and therefore the world as something ominous or symbolic of sinister things. When night came, so did peace. The world settled from the bustling activity of the day into a calm rejuvenation. He had felt this way since he was a small child.

Riku approached the house Sora had lived in for his entire life. Sora and Leon were sitting on the front steps but it didn't appear they were actively discussing anything. The spiky-haired brunet was leaned against the rail while Leon was upright, forearms resting on his knees. He knew they were waiting for either him or Cloud to show up.

Stopping at the bottom step, Riku muttered, "Hey, guys."

"Hey, Ku." Sora returned softly. Leon nodded but refrained from speaking.

Riku, wanting to keep the mood light, chuckled. "Needed a break from Seiya?"

Leon blew out a breath. "That woman is a force all her own."

"You should have seen Sephiroth's reaction to her." Riku flicked his silver bangs. "I really think she scared the hell out of him that first week."

"I can actually see that." The older man commented. "I don't imagine your brother has had much experience with women like her."

Aqua eyes brightened with Leon's casual acknowledgement of Sephiroth's status as his brother. That coupled with his surrendering of control of the Restoration showed that at least he had completely accepted the idea and was willing to give the man a chance. Of course, Leon did not have quite the reason to be distrustful of Sephiroth.

"Yeah, Mom can be a little intimidating." Sora grinned. "She drives me crazy sometimes but I love her."

"I've come to the conclusion that it's the people you love most that are most likely to make you go insane," Riku noted, a bit of exasperation in his voice. He felt a stirring beneath his consciousness and quickly put up one of his mental shields just in case. "But it doesn't keep us from loving them."

"The worlds would be a sad place if it did." Sora laughed.

"Yeah." Riku set his hip against the rail. He managed to remain casual. "Either of you seen Cloud yet?"

"No." Sora shook his head. He quickly smiled reassuringly. "But I'm sure he'll come around soon."

The silver-haired teen nodded. "I'm not going to worry too much until morning. If he doesn't show up by then…"

He did not need to finish the sentence; both Sora and Leon understood how he thought. They also knew how Cloud needed to go through things. Sora had not been present for many of their arguments but Leon had and the two had talked about how to handle them before. If this altercation went like those in the past, there should be at the least movement toward resolution by morning.

Leon straightened his back and looked at Riku. "Cloud really is trying to accept Sephiroth, Riku."

"I'm sure he is." Riku sighed. "And I didn't expect anything to change overnight. What's really bothering me right now is that he doesn't seem able to separate my relationship with Sephiroth and his relationship with him. Since he can't do that, it's causing confusion in our relationship.

"I don't know what it's going to take to fix that. Sephiroth has nothing to do with us but Cloud is convinced that he somehow does." The young man twisted the ring on his finger. "I don't know what I can do to fix that."

The other two were quiet for several minutes. Sora felt terrible for his friend but had no idea what he could do to help the situation. He knew Cloud loved Riku, know that the man would do absolutely anything for him, but he also understood what Cloud was facing.

For years, Cloud and Sephiroth have been locked in some twisted dance. Over the past year, the space between them had grown but there had not been any actual movement toward a reconciliation until a few months ago. That movement had only occurred because of Riku's presence in both of their lives. Sephiroth had never attempted to resolve things when they did interact; it was not at all surprising that Cloud would be suspicious of anything involving Sephiroth.

"This is something you and Cloud are going to have to figure out," Leon spoke softly. "And you need to do it before getting married."

"I know." There was no way Riku was making that kind of commitment with this big of an unresolved issue between them. "I just pray that we can."

"I think you will." Sora nodded with his statement. "We all know Cloud wouldn't have proposed if he didn't seriously want to marry you."

"And he did think through everything that went with that proposal despite how sudden of a decision it was." Leon added.

Riku felt a stirring in his heart. Frowning minutely, he turned his focus inward trying to identify it. This was a new feeling, like a faint, warm glow that slowly grew. It took him a moment to realize what it was and when he did, a smile nearly formed on his face.

He could _feel_ Cloud now.

Turning his head, he spotted his lover walking up the block from the direction of the Eastern piers. The man held his boots in a hand and the bottom of his pants were damp. Even from the distance, Riku could tell his blue eyes were placed upon the three on the steps.

As he got closer, Leon nudged Sora but the teen was already moving to get to his feet. Leon also stood but the pair waited until Cloud was coming up the short walk. Once they were fairly certain there were not going to be any confrontations, they silently disappeared inside the house.

Riku did not move from his position and simply waited. It was obvious that Cloud regretted his outburst but the younger male needed to hear how Cloud apologized. One of the things about Cloud that Riku had picked up on almost immediately was that one could easily figure out his true thoughts and feelings by how he said the words he used.

"I'm sorry," Cloud whispered, not averting his eyes from Riku's.

"I know you are."

"I know I'm being ridiculous about this. Sephiroth," Cloud paused, "Your brother, has nothing to do with our relationship. We fell in love before he entered the picture, he came to encourage me to stay with you when I was being bull-headed, he's given his blessing on our wedding…all without the slightest trace of deception or adversity."

The blond traced a finger along the white metal of the railing. "I know it's my own paranoia but I won't say it's completely unreasonable. However, I'm going to find ways to better handle these feelings and not let my fears get in the way of our life together."

Riku studied him for a long moment. Cloud was sincere with his words, and he had no reservations with saying them. He had truly made up his mind to do this. This was not the end of the issue but for now, they could move on.

Moving from the rail, Riku stepped down to Cloud. He brushed the backs of their hands together, and smiled lightly. "Come on."

Cloud fell into place beside him. Walking in the direction of Riku's small house, they remained quiet. The older man was a little tense still but he did not seem timid or afraid about anything. He knew that Riku had forgiven him.

"Did you go wading?"

"Yeah." Cloud glanced down at his bare feet. "I went to the shoreline north of those piers to the east. The waves are surprisingly gentle up there."

Riku knew exactly where he was talking about. "Yeah, they are. We weren't allowed to play up there because there's a really strong riptide about ten feet out. It looks calm up there but it's one of the most dangerous areas of ocean around this island."

"I guess it's a good thing I didn't want to take a swim."

"That could have ended up very badly." The silvered one concluded. He flicked his eyes toward the blond. "The water is soothing, isn't it?"

"It is." Cloud lifted his head, fixing his attention ahead of them. A moment passed before he quietly asked, "It's going to be hard for you to leave, isn't it? Harder than you thought."

Riku waited a few beats before answering. "I realized that a few days ago. For a long time, I focused only on the things I hated about this place. When I came back, I had hoped that it would turn out that most of the negative feelings were due to Jenova wanting me to find a way out of here but as time went by those feelings returned.

"Sephiroth explained to me when he was here that while Xehanort used what was in my heart, Jenova could only work with what was already here." The teen pointed at his temple. "I never felt I belonged here, never really thought of it as home. I love the Islands. I love the ocean and the beaches, the feel of the breeze against my skin, the smell of the sea air… but despite all of that, it still isn't home. My home… isn't a place."

Cloud faced him with a curious expression. "Then what is it?"

The younger male stopped and turned toward his fiancé. He brushed his fingers along Cloud's cheek, marveling again at just how delicate the man's skin was. "Home is wherever you are."

Blue eyes gazed into aqua for several moments. Cloud had come to this conclusion for himself right before making the decision to ask Riku's hand in marriage. He was never at peace, did not feel complete, without Riku being near. It did not matter where they lived; so long as they were together, anywhere was home.

Cloud took a step closer and slipped his arm around the taller male's waist. "So if I decided that I wanted to give living here a shot…?"

"You wouldn't last a week." Riku grinned, tugging his lover closer to press against his body. "The Islands are a great place to visit but I really can't see you staying here."

"Yeah, I never liked humidity." Cloud agreed. "Besides, Tifa would be devastated if I left again."

"Not to mention Aerith and everyone else." The younger one ran his fingertips along Cloud's spine. "Your family is there, your life is there. I'll miss Sora and Seiya terribly along with the others but…"

Somehow, Cloud understood what Riku was saying despite the lack of sentence completion. Nodding, he pressed a kiss to the other's lips and when it ended, he squeezed at his waist. "You know what I think we should do?"

Riku got them started walking again; Cloud did not remove his arm from his waist. "What?"

"Start saving up some munny and buy a vacation house here."

Aqua eyes flicked over. "That's not a bad idea. I know that Seiya would welcome us whenever we want but I don't want to impose on her too often."

"Yeah."

"Actually," Riku mused slowly. "The house I'm in now has a purchase option. Sephiroth got all the details on it when he found it and asked if I wanted him to buy it. I said no because at the time I had no interest in staying here any longer than I had to."

Cloud worried his lower lip in thought. "Do you think the offer still stands?"

"I would think so; Seph has told me numerous times that if I ever need anything to just ask. He has a _ton_ of munny sitting around."

"He made a lot at the Coliseum. I've got a fair amount too in accounts but nothing like him…" Cloud added, still in thought. "Maybe we could make an arrangement with him. If he could loan us the extra cash, I could pay him back within a few months."

"He'd just outright buy it for us."

"I'm sure he would." Cloud's voice was a bit tight and Riku could not tell what part of the conversation was causing it. "But I won't be indebted to anyone like that. I'd have to pay him back for it."

Riku understood that and did not argue. "I'll ask him about it next time I talk to him."

Cloud nodded. There was another long silence then the older man gently squeezed at Riku's waist. "I'm sorry I took off earlier."

"Don't worry about it," Riku assured. "You needed to calm down and if you hadn't left, it probably would have gotten bad."

"Did you guys get anything done?"

"I left almost right after you did. Knowing those three, however, I'm sure they got something done. At the very least, they'll have it set up so we can start over tomorrow."

Cloud exhaled. "Leave it to me to ruin our one full day to relax with each other."

It hurt Riku to hear the disappointment in his fiancé's voice. Cloud was as bad as he was about blaming himself for things that he really should not be. "You didn't ruin anything; we'll still be together and if I know Seiya and Leon, they'll have it arranged so that we can whip through everything. They aren't going to want to spend any more time on this stuff than we do."

Cloud seemed to accept this easily. They were a few houses away from Riku's and the lights in the passing windows were going out. It had to be getting rather late now.

"I'm not tired." Riku suddenly announced.

"Neither am I."

"What do you say I make up some quesadillas and we sit around and watch movies all night?"

They turned up the walk as Cloud chuckled. "If you promise to make them with that fajita chicken of yours, you've got a deal."

-0—0—

"Think those two are okay?"

Leon glanced over from the TV. Sora was still watching the screen but there was a worried look to his eyes. The teen had been concerned since Cloud and then Riku had disappeared and it had not improved much after seeing the couple come back together. "They'll be fine."

Sora nodded slowly. He appeared to be a little reassured but not by much. Leon knew the young brunet well enough to realize that Sora was not so much concerned about the argument today itself as he was that it had happened in the first place.

"Look, Sora," Leon spoke softly. "Those two have a lot of things they need to work out but they'll do it on their own time. They love each other too much to let their personal coping mechanisms destroy what they have."

"I hope so."

Leon observed Sora for a few minutes. "Are you thinking they shouldn't get married?"

"No." Sora answered quickly, shaking his head. "I'm really happy for them and it says so much about how tight they are just from the fact that Cloud even asked him. I'm just… wondering how they're gonna make it work. Communication isn't exactly either of their strong suits, ya know?"

"I know." Leon reached over and casually rubbed at the brunet's neck. "But I trust they'll get it together. Aren't you the one always saying love conquers everything?"

Sora smiled and looked at him. "Yeah."

"So don't worry about them too much." Leon pulled the boy closer and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. Sora took obvious comfort from this and relaxed against him. They may not have been pseudo-dating any longer but that did not mean that they stopped caring about each other. "They'll get all of this worked out and if not, well, then we'll intercede if we have to but if their marriage is going to work-"

"We have to let them make it work for themselves." Sora concluded. "I get it."

"I bet they're at the house right now curled up together on the sofa."

"Really?" Sora smirked. "You don't think they're going at it like they usually are?"

Leon faced the TV again and took the remote from Sora. "You haven't really had a chance to notice it yet, but whenever those to fight, they get almost disgustingly romantic for about a day after. You'll probably see it tomorrow at some point."

Sora bit his lip. "That… sounds almost worse than watching them all up on each other."

"It can be."

"Joy. I guess it's a good thing we were able to get most of the wedding stuff done without them then. We can just send them out to spend the day together."

"Sounds like a really good plan." Leon tugged at one of the teenager's spikes. "So what are we doing tomorrow?

"Well…" Sora pursed his lips in thought. "There's a blitzball game tomorrow afternoon. I know Wakka has a few extra tickets. Wanna see that?"

"Sure. I'm curious how that game works."

"It's fun. We have a modified version we play but it's very little like the real one." Sora watched as Leon flipped through channels. He finally settled on one of the cooking competitions his mom often watched. "And after we can get the others together for dinner. Maybe Riku and Cloud will have most of it out of their systems by then."

"Sounds like a plan."


	6. Chapter 6

Riku awoke to the sound of a soft knocking on his front door. He wanted to pretend he did not hear it but when the noise of a key being put in the lock followed, he knew who it was and woke up further. He carefully slipped out of Cloud's arms (they had fallen asleep on the third movie) and padded across his living room toward the door.

He got to it just as the door cracked open and was only slightly surprised that his visitor was Sora and not Seiya. The spiky-haired teen grinned at his best friend before turning and quietly closing the door. "Morning, Ku."

"Hey." Riku threaded his fingers through his tousled hair. Cloud was still asleep on the sofa so deciding they should talk in the kitchen, Riku gathered up the plates on the coffee table to clean up. Sora automatically picked up what he missed and the pair headed into the kitchen.

"Looks like you got things worked out." Sora noted as he set the dirty dishes on the counter beside the sink.

"For now, at least." The older teen agreed. "I have a bad feeling this was just the beginning of a lot of stupid fights."

Sora frowned. "You guys will be okay though, right? I mean, you aren't going to break up over any of this."

"I think we will be." Riku sounded a bit uncertain but not with any significant concern. "Cloud's really trying and I just have to let him handle things as he needs to. I just get so frustrated sometimes."

"Yeah, I get that." Sora laughed. "I'd be frustrated, too."

Riku turned on the tap and added soap to the filling sink. "So, what brought you over and without Leon?"

"Mom ran out of eggs and your closer than the store."

"Ah." Riku dropped the dishes into the hot sudsy water. "Well, she can have all I have. I need to run to the store later anyway."

Sora bounded over to the fridge. "What are you and Cloud doing today?"

"We haven't talked about it. I know we have to finish the stuff from yesterday. Did you and Leon make plans?"

"Wakka has some extra tickets for the blitz game this afternoon." The younger male pulled out the mostly full egg carton. "You and Cloud wanna go?"

Riku was not particularly interested and he doubted Cloud would be. "I'll ask Cloud when he wakes up."

"Kay." Sora closed the fridge and watched his friend clean dishes for a minute. It was weird but the domestic stuff seemed to suit Riku as well as physical labor, academic thought and simple fighting. There really was very little he was bad at.

For a long time, Sora had been jealous of Riku for that but it had passed. There were still bouts of envy but Sora was now very aware of all of Riku's faults and the burdens he carried. He was bred to be perfect, to excel at everything, but there were terrible consequences of that to his personality and ego. It was a strange balance.

"You better get those to Seiya." Riku chuckled. "If she has to come find you…"

"She'd probably send Leon and that would be worse." Sora turned for the swinging door. He pushed it open and found Cloud on the other side about to come through. "Morning, Cloud. Bye, Riku. Call if you wanna come with."

"Okay." The silvered male responded as Sora left and Cloud entered. Riku smiled at his fiancé's messy spikes and the faint lines from the sofa on his lightly freckled cheek. "Morning."

Cloud made a noise in greeting, hiding a yawn behind a fist. He groggily made his way toward Riku. "Tell me there's coffee."

"There can be." Riku set a cleaned glass in the drying rack. "Coffee's in the pantry, top shelf and the brewer is next to the fridge."

"Great." Cloud retrieved the grounds and set to work. When he came to the sink for water, he used the hand not holding the coffee pot to brush the side of the teen's face. "How are you this morning?"

"I'm great." Riku smiled, flicking his eyes toward the older man. It was extremely heart-warming to be here in this house, with this man, doing such normal, everyday things. He imagined this was what it would always be like after they were married.

Cloud leaned in for a quick kiss before going to the coffee maker and starting his morning beverage brewing. "What was Sora here for?"

"Seiya needed eggs." Riku finished the last dish and rinsed out the sink. "I'm going to have to hit the store tomorrow after you leave…"

He quickly moved the conversation forward. "Everyone's going to a blitzball game this afternoon. Any interest?"

"Not really. I've never much cared for sports but if you want to go…"

"Not particularly." The teenager crossed over to where Cloud stood. He slipped his arms around the older man's waist and kissed the side of his neck. Cloud somehow managed to pour his coffee during this. "Call me selfish but I want you all to myself today."

He felt Cloud chuckle against his chest. "I won't argue with that."

"Good." Riku released him. "I'm sure we can find something to do around here."

"Well," the blond started slowly. He took a drink of his coffee and flicked his eyes up at Riku. "We could talk about our house back home."

Riku's heart swelled. "I really like that idea. I don't even know what design you picked out."

"I have the design and blueprints with me. The foundation and outside framework is done but there's a few details that we need to decide on like the exterior and kitchen set-up before they can go further…"

"Go!" Riku shooed him with a bright grin. "I'll get breakfast started."

-0—0—

They spent the next two hours hovered over the blue-prints of what would be their home in just a couple of months. They agreed that they did not like the brick layout for the front of the one-story house and to substitute it for stonework. They also picked a lighter wood for the eaves and wood work outside. Riku hated the kitchen design and brought out his sketchbook to completely redo it.

Cloud watched his lover with a soft smile as he animatedly drew and idly talked to himself about where to place things and why. The blond could care less about the layout of the kitchen or even the rest of the house for that matter. However, he knew Riku did and this meant more to his young fiancé than almost anything.

It was the one thing he could give Riku without reservation. That thought pained him deeply because he wanted, needed, to give Riku more. The young man had all of his heart and Cloud gave him all of his love and devotion with no uncertainty or hesitation but there were things that it was not as easy to surrender to him.

"What do you think?" Riku abruptly asked, breaking Cloud of his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

Aqua eyes fixed upon him and Riku smirked. "You aren't paying one bit of attention."

"It's your kitchen." Cloud glanced at the sketch Riku had done. "That looks really practical. I think I could actually work in that kitchen."

"Not till I have a chance to break it in, love." Riku grinned. "I'd like to have my kitchen new and functioning for at least a month before you burn it down."

Cloud huffed indignantly. There was no bitterness behind it though because he knew he was a disaster in the kitchen. Tifa still hadn't let go of the one time he tried making pancakes back in Edge. The bar had not been able to serve food for two days after.

Riku's phone rang and he frowned a bit as he got up to answer it. Why was Jacen calling him? He knew he didn't have an appointment today; he had made sure to have his now weekly therapy session before his birthday.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Sorry to bother you." Jacen sounded apologetic. "I just needed to change your session next week to the day after."

"Oh. Yeah, that's fine."

"Good. How was your birthday?"

Riku lifted his eyes to Cloud and he just knew Jacen would hear his smile and the absolute joy in his voice. "Absolutely fantastic. Sora gave me the best gift ever."

"Do I want to know?"

Biting his lip, Riku turned and paced a few steps. "Got any free time today?"

Jacen sounded intrigued. "Appointment-wise or other?"

"Other."

"My last appointment is at three-thirty. It should be done by four-thirty."

"Do you want to meet up at the coffee shop at five?" Riku smiled. "Cloud's kinda addicted to the stuff."

There was a pause then Jacen laughed. "Sora finally dragged the mysterious fiancé here, huh?"

"Actually, it was a group effort but Sora's responsible for it happening."

"Well, I look forward to meeting him. I'll see you both at five."

"Cool." The eighteen-year-old hung up and turned back to Cloud. The blue-eyed man was curiously worried. Riku walked back to the table and sat down. "We're meeting with Jacen at five."

"Jacen…?"

Riku angled his head. Cloud knew who Jacen was. He had to have mentioned him at least… He frowned deeply as he realized that he never had brought up his therapy with Cloud. How had that never come up?

Suddenly rather nervous, Riku placed his hands on the table. "Yeah, um, Jacen's my therapist. I guess I never brought that up."

Cloud pursed his lips. While it did not really surprise him that Riku was in therapy, it bothered him that he had not been told before. He supposed that it did not matter anymore but he was still irked about it. "Why didn't you tell me back when you told me about the medicine?"

"I don't know…" Riku turned his face down. "I guess I just assumed that all of that kind of went together. I mean, they aren't going to just leave it at some pills for a suicide attempt."

Blue eyes widened and Cloud nearly stood. "Wait, what?"

The younger man blinked at his reaction. "You know about that."

"No," Cloud said slowly. "All you said was Sora found you in a bad spot. Suicide was never mentioned."

"I wasn't going to kill myself." Riku would hold firm to that position no matter what anyone else tried convincing him. "I just… She wouldn't shut up. I thought that maybe…" he sighed and slumped back. "I don't know what I was thinking. I just wanted the pain to stop."

He felt ashamed of himself and couldn't bring himself to look at Cloud. He knew he should have handled things better; he was also well aware that he created most of his own problems. He had become overwhelmed with keeping his secrets from everyone and that on top of Jenova's random outbursts… he should have just come clean with everyone from the very beginning.

He heard Cloud's chair scrape against the tile and glanced up. The blond stepped over to him and pulled him up by his arm. Riku easily complied and instantly pressed himself against his lover's body. Cloud's arms wrapped around him and he felt tears start to form.

"I'm sorry," Cloud murmured.

"Why?"

"You didn't think you could talk to me." Cloud rubbed his lower back. "And I think that you still feel there are things you can't come to me for."

What Cloud said was true. There were still subjects that there was no way he could talk to Cloud about. He could not discuss his problems with Jenova with him because that would just remind him that Sephiroth was his brother and likely further convince him that Riku was going to one day end up like him. He didn't want to add to Cloud's concerns.

"Riku." Cloud pulled away far enough to look him in the eyes. "Don't ever think you can't talk to me. I love you and I _am_ here for you. Even if I react badly at first… I'll calm down. I'm doing my best to accept the situation with the whole Jenova thing. I hope you believe that."

Riku moistened his lower lip and nodded. "I know you are. I'll try to be more open with you. I just… I don't like hurting you. You've been damaged too much by the whole nightmare already."

Cloud smiled lightly. "I hurt more knowing that you're suffering alone because you don't want to hurt me or anyone else."

Sora had said the same thing to him months ago when Riku was still in the hospital for 48 hour observation. The boy had completely broken down on him and made Riku swear to him that there would be no more lies and that he would come to Sora if things ever got bad again. It hadn't been until then that he realized that his lies had caused those he loved more pain than what he was trying to protect them from.

…And now Cloud was reinforcing that.

"Don't cry." Cloud reached up and wiped at his eyes. "It's okay now. I understand why you did it; I do the same thing. But you and I, we're not alone anymore and it isn't just us against the darkness. We both need to remember that."

"Yeah." Riku's tears dried and he took a breath. "Sorry about that."

"Don't be. This was just one of the many things we needed to cover before our wedding day." Cloud chuckled and brushed at his cheek. "We can check that off the list."

Riku laughed and dropped his head against Cloud's shoulder. He felt like another weight had been lifted from him, one he hadn't known was there amongst everything else that weighed him down. "Good."

"What time are we at?" Cloud asked softly, not moving away.

"I don't know. It was ten when Sora showed up…I'm guessing noonish." Silver hair shifted as Riku turned his head. Suddenly, he needed to be as close to Cloud as possible. "We should go finish things with Seiya…."

"That's what I was thinking." Cloud kissed his head and tried to move away. He chuckled when Riku wouldn't let him go. "We're going to have to move at some point, Riku."

_She_ was stirring. Riku clung a bit tighter and placed a mental block against her. He knew that she would try to take advantage of his emotional state for the past two days and waited to see what she did. She didn't seem to be trying anything; more like she was reminding him she was there. As if he'd forget.

"Riku?"

"Just… give me a second…"

Sensing that something was off, Cloud wrapped his arms tighter around him. Riku absorbed all the affection and the stirring went away. Cloud always made her go away.

He slowly drew back and smiled weakly. "Sorry."

The older man frowned in concern. "What happened?"

Huffing out a breath, Riku reluctantly explained. "Every once in a while, Mother likes to remind me that she's still here. She hasn't tried anything since Sephiroth was here a few months ago but…"

Cloud nodded in understanding. He knew how it worked well enough to get what Riku was saying. While he had never had to deal with Jenova personally, he assumed that Sephiroth had picked up the same techniques when he was under her influence and that he was very familiar with. Often, Tifa had been the only one to pull him back from the brink.

Fear pulled at his heart as it really sunk in just what Riku was. It still didn't matter to him how the teen had been created but he could not deny those facts either. Riku was going to have to be dealing with Jenova and everything that went with her for the rest of his life. Cloud could only pray that he was able to help him with that terrible legacy.

"I'm okay now." Riku met Cloud's eyes to prove it.

Cloud nodded.

"So," Riku brushed at a long blond spike. He had sudden need for Cloud and he pulled the man's hips against his, shifting. "What do you say we go upstairs and get in the shower…" He saw the change in Cloud's blue eyes. "Take a nice, long time washing…" He leaned in and nipped at his fiancé's pierced ear. "Then spend some time in bed before checking in with Seiya."

Cloud grinned with lust. "Lead the way."

-0—0—

"That was a wild game." Sora commented, walking backwards with his fingers laced behind his head.

"Yeah it was!" Tidus agreed animatedly. "I can't believe we lost! We should have had that win in the bag!"

"The coach kept making bad calls." Wakka shook his head. "I don't know what he was thinking with that last play, ya."

Tidus and Wakka continued complaining about every wrong call that was made and Sora glanced over at Leon. The sable haired man walked casually beside him, looking quite comfortable in his jeans and t-shirt. The change in attire fit him well. "So, whatcha think of Blitz?"

"It's a very interesting game." Leon squinted his eyes against the sun. "It's a lot simpler than I thought it would be."

"There's a lot of technique." Tidus interrupted. He sounded prepared to defend his chosen sport against the off-worlder.

"I noticed." Leon commented easily. "Wakka must be really good to have a scholarship."

"Tidus is better, ya." The ruddy-haired teen in question grinned at his friend. "They're gonna be throwing money at him."

"I hope." The blond frowned. "My old man says it's the only way I'm affording to go to college."

"You'll be fine." Sora assured him. "You've been the star player for two years now and next year will be the same."

Tidus grinned a bit. "Yeah."

"So what's next on the agenda?" Leon asked. While he didn't mind hanging out with the teenagers, he felt a little awkward with them. Not only was he a complete outsider, he never was much of a teenager when he was a teenager.

"I've got to get home." Tidus grumbled. "Jeckt's in one of his moods."

Both Sora and Wakka looked at him sympathetically. Leon did not know what it was about but clearly Tidus' father had issues of some kind. He doubted the other two would be giving him that expression if it was teenaged over-dramatization.

"Yeah." Tidus nodded at Leon. "I won't see you before you leave so it was cool meeting you. Hopefully I can make it to Radiant Garden."

"I hope so." Leon nodded back.

The boy waved to his friends and took off to the right. The three continued their walk into the residential area of Destiny Islands. It was early evening and they passed several adults coming home from work. The adults glanced at Leon curiously but greeted Sora and Wakka easily. One could tell that it was a fairly close-knit community.

"How long do you have, Wakka?" Sora glanced at his friend.

"Till ten." Wakka pursed his lips. "Ya know what? We should take Leon to the Boardwalk."

"Okay." Blue eyes turned toward Leon. "That sound okay? We can get some really fresh shrimp po' boys, like caught this morning shrimp fresh."

Leon chuckled. "Sounds great. I could seriously live here just for the seafood. I miss that back home."

"Is there even an ocean on Radiant Garden?"

"There's two that we know of." Leon placed his hands in his pockets. "We haven't been out to them but we found several maps of the planet that show them. Eventually we'll have to put a team together to go out and explore."

"That would be awesome to do!" Sora jumped a step in enthusiasm. "I would love to do that! Me and a couple of others could just wander around and map out everything we find."

"Sora?" Wakka's tone was a mix of curious and serious. "I really have to ask this; why aren't you moving to Radiant Garden, too?"

Sora paused. He had not expected the question and it threw him for a moment. "What do you mean why aren't I? This is my home, my mom's here, you guys are here…"

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, but me, Tidus and Selphie noticed a while ago that, well, you aren't here."

"Huh?"

"All you talk about is Radiant Garden and everyone there." Wakka noted. "Even when you're here, your mind is there. Riku may have had the actual breakdown and he may have a more specific reason for leaving, but it seems to us at least that you'd be happier there, too."

Leon watched Sora's reaction to Wakka's observation carefully. The boy's blue eyes had darkened in thought as he considered the other's words. Leon did not know much of what went on here and was interested to know if what Wakka said was true. He would have to ask Cloud later if Riku had made the same observation.

Sora worried his lower lip. He had not told anyone but he had entertained ideas of leaving Destiny Islands along with Riku. He had noticed over winter break that he was happier there and it felt more like home every time he visited but… he couldn't leave the Islands.

Could he?

"This is home." He said firmly. Even to him it sounded like he was convincing himself. "I belong here as much as I would anywhere else."

Leon narrowed his eyes slightly but remained quiet. He was definitely going to have to talk to Sora about this later but for now, it was probably best to move the conversation forward. "On the subject of home, do you think your mom would want to come with us to the Boardwalk? I feel like we should do something for her after all she's been doing."

"We can stop by the house and ask." Sora decided. "Mom's never been too big on the Boardwalk…no idea why."

"I don't think she likes crowds." Wakka suggested as they turned down Sora's street. "She's happier behind the scenes."

"Yeah, I can see that." Sora nodded. He fixed his attention ahead of them and spotted Riku and Cloud leaving his house. "Wow, they did make it over before evening."

"It looks like they're in a hurry to leave, mon." Wakka chuckled. "Wonder where they're going. That's not the direction of Riku's."

Leon noticed the couple did seem to be rushing somewhere, as if they were running late for something. "It would be interesting if they decided to go to the Boardwalk also. Maybe they made reservations somewhere."

"That's possible." Sora conceded. "There's a really good place on the South end that Riku really likes. He and Seph went twice a week."

"Seiya will know."

"Mom knows everything." The spiky-brunet laughed. "We'll ask her about it and met up with them later."

"Works for me," stated Wakka. Leon nodded in agreement.


	7. Chapter 7

Long chapter, kinda makes up for the wait, ya? Maybe?

I did some major reworking on the story which held things up a bit (notice a chapter disappeared?).

Reviews are awesome. Thanks for reading.

* * *

"What part of 'we have to meet someone at five' is so hard to understand?" Riku asked as they approached the beginning of the business district.

"Oh, admit that you were having fun with Seiya and lost track of time, too." Cloud returned easily. "And there was no way I was going to interrupt that animated discussion over the pros and cons of serving dinner plated or buffet."

"Well, seeing that this is my wedding also, or so I'm continuously being told," Cloud smirked. "I'd prefer doing a family-style thing. Each table gets its own dishes and everyone at it can serve themselves."

The younger angled his head in thought. "Actually…I like that. It's informal and allows everyone to still take what they want without it becoming a free-for-all. I think we should go with that."

"I'm glad you like it."

Riku took his hand and squeezed it. "You need to speak up more, Cloud. You have great ideas and it _is_ your wedding, too."

"I haven't needed to." The blond assured. "I pretty much agree with everything you've decided."

"Good." Riku was very happy to hear that. He worried that Cloud was just going along with what he wanted. At one point, he'd had the paranoid thought that Cloud was acting so laid back about the wedding because his heart wasn't in it and at the last moment, he was going to back out. "We're almost to the coffee shop."

They did not let go of one another's hands as they walked the two blocks further to their arranged meeting place with Jacen. They passed several people who gave them looks but those were more curious than anything. This part of town was considered the 'artist area' with two art galleries, a photography studio, the bookstore and the music shop. People frequenting here tended to be more laid back and open minded.

Slightly leading, Riku pulled Cloud with him across the street. Now that the temperature was cooling a bit with the coming evening, some of the outdoor tables had customers at them. A few were reading, others working on something or another. No one looked at them as they entered the shop.

Riku took a quick glance around and spotted his therapist for over a year now sitting in one of the conversation circles that was a bit removed from the other settings. The man was writing something on a legal pad and did not appear to have noticed them come in. Even when they approached he did not stop writing.

"Hello, Riku."

"Hi. Sorry we're late. Seiya kept us."

The brown-haired man smiled as he completed his work and close the notepad. "No trouble. It gave me time to finish up some notes."

"Slacking on your paperwork again?"

"I've been trying not to." Jacen stuffed the pad into the satchel on the floor near his feet. He then finally looked up and smiled at the couple. He did not stand but leaned forward and nodded at Cloud. "It's a pleasure to finally meet the infamous Cloud Strife."

"Uh, yeah." It was painfully obvious how uncomfortable Cloud was. He nodded back stiffly and shuffled his feet, not quite bringing himself to look directly at the man who probably knew more about him than he wanted to think about.

Riku grinned a little and squeezed his lover's hand. "Can you get us some coffee?"

"Sure." The blond confirmed, relief in his voice. He quickly released Riku's hand and left for the counter.

As Riku sat across from Jacen, the therapist chuckled. "He is almost painfully shy, isn't he?"

"It's not so much shy as uncomfortable." Riku corrected, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Cloud was all right. "He just found out about you."

Jacen lifted an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah." The silvered one quickly explained. "It's my fault for that. I assumed that when he found out about the meds I was on, he'd understand that therapy was part of the package."

"That must have thrown him." Jacen picked up his tea to sip at it. "He's probably wondering just how much I know about him."

"Probably." Riku agreed. "Unfortunately for him, he's a rather private guy surrounded by people who aren't. Everyone pretty much knows everything about everyone else."

"That would be difficult. My brother was much the same way." The therapist spoke with a hint of sadness in his voice. Riku had noted some time ago that Jacen grew sad any time the subject of his own family came up, especially his siblings. He always wanted to ask why but refrained. It was not appropriate nor any of his business. Jacen was his therapist, not his friend; sometimes he forgot that.

Cloud returned and handed Riku a large cup before sitting down beside him. He quietly stated, "Coffee's a lot cheaper here."

"That's because it's locally grown." Riku explained, removing the lid and blowing lightly on the extra hot beverage. "No import costs outside of bringing it from the south island. I should probably buy a few pounds of beans for you to take back with you."

"Do they grow anything on Radiant Garden yet?" Jacen inquired. At Cloud's surprised expression, he smiled. "Yes, I know all about pretty much everything. Sephiroth gave me the full picture when he was here."

"Did he?" Cloud asked neutrally. "So you talked to him."

"Only a few times and only about Riku." The named teenager watched Jacen carefully, seeing immediately that the man was making mental notes of Cloud's reaction. Jacen was well aware of the severe animosity between Riku's lover and his brother; it had been the subject of many recent sessions.

Cloud did not say anything.

"So back to my question." The dark-haired man set his cup down. "Have they set up any agriculture there?"

Realizing that he was the only one who could answer that, Cloud replied. "There are six communal farms and two livestock pens. They're working on getting a few orchards going."

"It'll take a huge strain off the budget the more self-sufficient you get."

"I guess. I don't really know about any of that." Cloud picked at the sofa arm. "Leon handles all of that; I'm just manual labor."

"Is he here, too?"

"Yeah." Riku sensed Cloud's increasingly melancholy mood and took his hand. The last thing he wanted was for his lover to go into a depressive fit, not with him leaving tomorrow. "He suggested it and Sora helped put the details together."

"You both really have some great friends." Jacen noted, taking a drink of tea. "How are the wedding plans coming along?"

"So far, it's all coming together." Riku handed the coffee back to Cloud. "Seiya insisted on going to Miss Sarah. I don't want to know what that's going to lead to. I've heard stories…."

"From what I've heard, the groom has the bulk of the embarrassing stuff."

"I'm officially the bride." The silver-haired teen declared. "I'll even wear a dress if I have to."

Cloud snorted softly. "You just want to see me make a fool of myself."

"Never." Riku's tone was not at all believable. He reached over and took Cloud's hand, sending him a soft smile. "We can both look like fools."

Jacen glanced between them and an amused look crossed his expression. Riku caught the look and raised an eyebrow at it but the therapist merely continued the conversation. "So, arcane rituals aside, everything is proceeding as you both want?"

"For the most part," Muttered Cloud. At Riku's abrupt tensing, he squeezed the younger man's hand. "I still have some…reservations to get rid of."

Riku felt an uneasiness at the way Cloud said it but the reassuring hand squeeze kept it from becoming anything more than a faint feeling. He knew that Cloud was working hard to resolve as much of his linger animosity toward Sephiroth as he could. He was going to do his best to help by not pushing that process.

"From what I understand, that applies to all soon to wed couples." Jacen noted easily. "I'm sure you're going to find things about Riku you'll have to come to terms with also."

"Oh, I'm sure of that." The teenager murmured, earning a frown from Cloud. This time he gave the gentle hand squeeze. "I'm expecting the next year to be as rough as it will be happy."

"Good approach." Jacen's brown eyes flicked toward his watch. "Well, I hate to end our visit but I have a few things I need to do still tonight."

"That's cool." Riku released Cloud's hand and rolled his shoulders. "Seiya's probably waiting for us to get back with a whole new list of things it's absolutely imperative we decide now."

"How much more can there be?" Cloud grumbled. "I thought we were doing a simple, small gathering."

"This is simple and small." Riku informed him with a grin. "The big ones take nearly a year to arrange. We haven't been engaged three months yet."

"You are on the fast tract, Cloud." Jacen added. "I've seen these things get ridiculously complicated."

The blond pursed his lips. "Captain Jack is still an option…"

"There's better rum than that here."

Riku snickered. "He's not talking rum, Jacen, and no he isn't, Cloud."

The brown-haired therapist looked confused but left it alone. "All right then. Well, Cloud, it's been a pleasure to finally meet you."

Cloud nodded in acknowledgement.

Standing, Jacen addressed the couple. "I was going to leave this in a card for the two of you but since I have the opportunity to personally speak with you together, I can just tell you. I don't know all the details, but you both have been through hells that scarred each of you. Since finding one another, many of those wounds have healed but there will always be ones you can't repair. Don't let those become the focus of your marriage. Your relationship is not supposed to change just because of a piece of paper binding you."

From the corner of his eye, Riku saw something in Cloud's expression change. Something about Jacen's words must have struck him but Riku could not guess at what. The statement had affected him also, but Riku had already come to that conclusion; getting married was something he wanted and it meant more to him than he could express but it ultimately didn't change how he and Cloud felt about each other or how their relationship functioned.

Maybe Cloud had thought it would.

"Thank you." The blond swordsman spoke quietly. He moved his hand to Riku's knee. "And thank you for being there for Riku."

"It's my job." Jacen dismissed. A fond little smile tugged at his lips a moment later. "Though…I'm glad Riku was assigned to me. Once again the Force knew what it was doing."

Both Riku and Cloud looked at him in confusion. Jacen merely smiled mysteriously and bid them good night. He told Riku he would see him next week and then left the couple.

"Come on." Cloud stood up and pulled Riku up with him. He took the last drink of their coffee and tossed the empty cup into a waste bin a few feet away. "I'm getting hungry."

Riku was a little hungry also. "There's a restaurant that I really like a few blocks away or if you want to see the Boardwalk, there's a stand that does different seafood, kind of a local favorite thing. Sora loves the shrimp there."

"That sounds good. I want to get my fill of really fresh seafood while I can."

"Okay." Riku flicked his bangs and took the lead out of the shop. They turned right toward the ocean front.

Cloud fell into step beside him. "What's the time difference between here and Disney?"

"Um…" It was a bit of a random question and Riku had to think about it for a moment. "They're eight hours ahead of us."

"So if we're gonna call, do it really late tonight." Cloud nodded. He glanced at Riku with a smile and a bright shine to his eyes. "I want to get the king confirmed for the wedding. Then we can get everything else finalized so when the time comes, we can focus on us and not anything else."

The younger male studied his fiancé for a long moment. Whatever it was that Jacen had said that had settled within Cloud's mind had made him suddenly more eager about things to come. Whereas there had been something that kept his enthusiasm in check before, it now appeared that Cloud wanted this wedding as much has Riku did.

Returning the smile, Riku slipped his arm around Cloud's waist. "Yeah, as little stress as possible that week before would be nice."

"I want our wedding to go without a hitch." They were entering the wharf and Boardwalk area. "Let the others deal with any little snags and we can just focus on us."

Riku loved the sound of that.

His phone beeped and with his free hand he pulled it from his pocket. The text was from Sora asking what they were doing. Riku was tempted to say something really kinky for them to be doing but opted not. With one hand, he told him they were headed for the Boardwalk, sent the text, and waited for Sora's response.

It came seconds later. _Cool. Were at the shrimp stand._

Riku put his phone away. "Sora and Leon are at the stand. He must have been craving shrimp po' boys."

"I love po' boys."

Aqua eyes blinked. "You do?"

"Zack introduced me to them." Cloud explained softly. "They were popular in Gongaga and he had his mom's recipe. He used to make them a lot…. They had them in Costa de Sol but they didn't come close to Zack's."

"Oh."

Cloud still did not talk much about his deceased lover but it had gotten better though there still was always a sad tone to his voice when he did. When Riku had first listened to Cloud speak of Zack, it had been painful to hear the heartbroken tone and see the almost lost look to his eyes. For a long time, Riku believed he would never be able to overcome the memory of Cloud's lost love.

Over time that had lessened and the grip Zack had once held on Cloud loosened greatly. He knew Cloud had not entirely let go of Zack but he no longer ruled the blond's heart and soul. In a strange way, he was glad that Cloud still held a reverence for his fallen love.

"Zack made them with whitefish because it that was cheapest to get in Midgar." Cloud continued as they walked up the steps to the Boardwalk itself. "He said one day we'd go to Gongaga to have the real thing."

"That would have been a nice trip."

"Yeah, I would have loved going to his hometown with him. He always talked so fondly of it." Cloud looked at Riku with that smile of his that lit up his eyes. "I'm glad I get to see your homeworld with you."

Riku grinned back easily, his heart swelling with affection and he squeezed Cloud's waist before dropping his arm reluctantly. There were a lot of people still milling about and enough of them were likely to have a problem with gays that it was not worth the risk. Cloud picked up on this and increased the space between them by a few inches.

"Hey!" Sora's voice drifted toward them.

The couple turned their heads enough to spot Sora, Leon, and Wakka sitting on an ocean-side bench across from the seafood shack. All three were eating the shrimp po' boys Sora loved. Riku glanced at Cloud, silently asking if he wanted one also. When Cloud nodded, Riku went to the stand counter while Cloud joined the others.

"Where were you two?" Sora queried, drinking from a large cup. "We saw the two of you hurrying off somewhere from my house."

"Riku wanted me to meet his therapist." Cloud eyed Leon's cup, which appeared to be filled with the same liquid as Sora's, a thick, creamy white drink with pinpricks of black.

"You met up with Jacen?" Sora asked with a note of surprise.

"Yeah." The blond confirmed as Leon held out his cup to him and murmured 'it's good'. He took it uncertainly. "I wish I had known about him sooner."

"Riku didn't tell you about him before?" Sora frowned.

"He assumed that I would assume he had one to go with the pills he was taking." Cloud sipped experimentally at Leon's drink. It tasted of coconut and some other fruit he couldn't identify. It was really good.

"That sounds like Riku." Wakka noted.

"Huh." Sora shrugged. "He's really cool and helpful. I talked to him a lot about Kairi and Leon. I know Sephiroth really liked him."

"It sounded like it." Cloud muttered, handing the cup back to Leon. "He knew a lot more than I expected and I know he knew more than that."

"Sephiroth told all of us a lot of things Riku didn't." Wakka crushed his food wrapper. "Riku was rather put out about that, too."

"But you needed to know it." Riku's voice was soft as he stepped beside Cloud. He held up a hand holding two wrapped sandwiches, one of which Cloud took from him. His other hand had a large cup like the ones Sora, Leon, and Wakka were drinking from. "I was a real idiot about everything."

"You were," agreed Sora.

"But we forgive you, ya." Wakka added.

Riku huffed and rolled his eyes. Next to him, Cloud was already unwrapping his po' boy. The silvered one watched him casually as he revealed the sandwich and bit into it. The small smile that pulled at his lips told Riku that he liked it a great deal. Unwrapping his own, he asked how the blitz game was.

Wakka spent the next fifteen minutes detailing the apparently dismal game the three on the bench had witnessed. Sora added a few of things but otherwise remained quiet like Leon. Observing both of them a little more closely, Riku notice they were each thinking deeply about something. He was acutely curious as to what.

Cloud finished his food and reached for the drink in Riku's hand. "So what's next?"

"Wakka has until ten." Sora slurped the last of his drink. "We can stick around out here or go back to the house."

"I like being out here." Leon spoke softly, shifting into a more casual position on the bench. "It's relaxing."

"It is," Riku seconded. "There's something about the ocean's roar that's calming."

"So let's go down to the actual beach and sit in one of the clusters, ya?" Wakka suggested, standing up.

The group went to one of the short staircases leading down to the sand and located a small circular gathering spot nearby that was empty. There were several of them along the upper beach near the Boardwalk; areas consisting of clusters made of two short benches, a square table and a post of a beach umbrella. Since the sun was setting, the beach had mostly cleared out and there was no one around for a good dozen feet in any direction.

Riku and Cloud took up the bench that was angled more toward the water, Riku settling easily beside Cloud. Sora sat in the other bench while Wakka hopped up onto the table. Leon dropped down into the sand nearby, his knees bend up before him and body facing the ocean. It gave him a clear view of the waves slowly breaking as the water rushed closer.

The group was quiet, content with just watching and listening to what the ocean had to show. Riku leaned against Cloud as the older rubbed at his neck and nuzzled his hair. Sora and Leon were still thoughtful and Wakka was simply relaxed. It was a peaceful moment and they all were taking it in for as long as they could. Who knew when another would come?

It was eventually broken by Leon's phone ringing. He took a long breath and with clear reluctance, removed the device from his pocket. When he answered, there was an underlying concern to his voice. "What's going on? …you did?" Surprise flitted across his expression. "…he did? Good. …stop complaining and do the work, Yuffie…. Sephiroth has my full permission to start any new projects he wants. …Yes, I do. …You agreed so now you're stuck…. Goodbye, Yuffie."

Leon pocketed his phone and sighed heavily. "That girl is going to kill me."

"What was that about?" Sora frowned, bringing his legs up to put his feet together. At some point he had removed his shoes.

"Sephiroth managed to complete all of the current projects I left." Leon was obviously pleased about this. "He went ahead and began three new ones. Yuffie is bitching."

"Because now she has to keep working instead of taking tomorrow off." Cloud concluded. He continued rubbing Riku's neck. "I hope we come back tomorrow to find her hanging off of a very high beam by her headband."

Riku snorted loudly. "Why can I see Seph doing that?"

"Because he would. Your brother has a twisted sense of humor and always has."

"I noticed."

Sora smiled at the ease in which the couple was speaking about Sephiroth. It reassured him that they would ultimately be okay and that the most important thing to him right now. The smile dimmed as he wondered what would happen when they fought on Radiant Garden. Who would Riku go to when they argued then?

"Man, it's nine-thirty." Wakka noted. "I have to go."

"We can walk with you." Leon offered though he clearly was not ready to leave the beach.

"Naw, it's cool." The redhead slid off the table. "Have a safe trip back, guys. I'll be helping Riku move in a few weeks so I'll see you then, ya."

"I look forward to it." Leon nodded.

"See you later, Wakka." Sora waved.

"Bye," Riku smiled a touch. Next to him, Cloud declined his head.

As Wakka jogged off, Leon leaned back on his hands. "We should probably get going soon also. We need to leave early tomorrow."

"We don't have to be back until evening, Leon." Cloud countered. "Sephiroth won't give you the full report until the morning anyway and you already know they're ahead of schedule."

"I suppose."

"But," Cloud kissed Riku's earlobe. "We do have a phone call to make."

"Yeah." Riku squeezed the blond's knee and leaned his head back to nuzzle against Cloud.

Sora watched them snuggle for another minute, noting how…soft they were with each other. It was different from how he usually saw them and while it was wonderful to see them so content, the cuddliness was bordering on obnoxious. "Wow, Leon, you were right."

The sable-haired man was staring out at the ocean again. "I told you."

"So, who do you have to call?" Sora questioned, eyes still on Leon. Something about the man's position and near-absentness was troubling.

"Mickey." Riku replied with a faint sigh. Cloud was pressing his fingers to his lower back and it felt incredibly good.

Sora angled his head curiously. "Wait. You can actually call him? Like directly?"

"Yeah, it's just extremely expensive and the message bottles are actually more reliable if slower."

"I didn't know he had a phone."

"He does." Riku flicked his eyes at his at his best friend. "You want to call?"

"That would be cool, but…if it's expensive, I don't want to start babbling and you know how I get." Sora frowned in disappointment. "It's not like I really have anything to say to him anyway."

Hearing Sora's depression, Riku pulled away enough to take his phone out. Flipping it open, he ran through his contact list until he found King Mickey's number and selected it. As the call connected, he turned on the speaker-phone. That way, Sora could at least say hello to the ruler. Maybe Donald or Goofy would be with him…

"Well, good evenin', Riku." A high-pitched voice greeted with a chuckle. "You timed this just right; I'm walking into a meeting with Goofy."

Sora brightened as the distinct tones of one of his former traveling companions became clear in the background. "Hi, Goofy!"

There was a noise, followed by a mutter and a click that Riku assumed was Mickey putting them on speaker. "Now he can hear ya, Sora."

"Hey, Sora!" Goofy laughed. "Hyuck, how's things at home?"

"It's all good."

Riku smiled at Sora's joy but knew they needed to get to the point of the call. "If you're busy, this can wait."

"If you're callin' me, it's gotta be something important." Mickey noted. "What's goin' on?"

"Um, well," the teenager worried his lower lip, "I have a favor to ask of you."

"A favor, huh?" There was something oddly knowing to the mouse's words.

"Yeah." Nervousness was creeping up within him and he took Cloud's hand for reassurance. "You got my last letter, right?"

"Yep. I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to you. Things have just been busy around here lately. It's finally starting to calm down."

"Good."

"I'm guessin' Cloud's with you?"

"Yeah, he's sitting beside me."

"Whelp, congratulations to you both on your engagement." Mickey sounded extremely pleased. "I had a feeling that you were in it for the long haul, especially with all you had to go through."

"Yeah," Goofy added from the background. "I know yer going to be really happy for a long time."

"Thanks." Cloud quietly returned for the couple. "That's actually what Riku's calling you about."

"Oh?"

Riku retook the conversation. "The wedding is in two months-"

"Fifty-five days." Cloud, Sora and Leon all stated in unison.

Aqua eyes narrowed into a glare as the three chuckled. He even heard Mickey and Goofy laughing. Setting his jaw, he continued. "Yes, fifty-five days. Cloud and I, we were wondering if you might be available to officiate. If you aren't, we totally understand."

There was a long pause. "You want me to marry ya?"

"Yes."

Riku waited for his answer, barely hoping his royal friend would say yes. He really would understand if it wasn't possible and he realized that if couldn't do it, also meant that he wouldn't be attending the wedding, but he did want his friend there. Mickey was a very important part of his life.

"Whelp, I don't reckon I can deny you a favor."

Riku's lips pulled up into a full smile. He felt Cloud wrap his arms around his waist and settled against him in relief. It was not that he had been worried, he had just been hoping for this more than he let on even to himself. "It won't interfere with anything, will it?"

"Of course not. Nothing is more important to me." Mickey declared easily. "Send another letter with all the details and I'll be sure to get everything arranged."

"I'll get it out tomorrow."

"Good. Whelp, if that's all, my captain of the guard and I have a meeting to get to."

Riku poured gratitude and joy into his words. "Thanks, Mickey."

"Anything for a friend, Riku."

Everyone said their goodbyes and Riku ended the call. He leaned against Cloud and felt Sora and Leon's eyes on them. "Well, that's the last lingering piece."

Leon regarded them casually. "So, ready to get married?"

Riku glanced at Cloud and found his fiancé giving him the exact same expression he imagined on his own face. He had no good explanation for it but finalizing this last major detail had somehow made him feel that much closer to the idea that in only two short months, he would be a married man. He and Cloud would be together and never have to part. Cloud was feeling the same thing.

"Yes."

The mood light, Sora stood and stretched. "Let's get home, guys."


	8. Chapter 8

Well, after like a year (or something), finally the end of this story. Thankfully for all of you still following, I have the next mini-story started so it won't be nearly as long for the continuation. Two mini-stories, then the final chapter story will finish this series completely.

Thank you all so much for following me through this journey!

* * *

Cloud half-heartedly reached for his phone to check the text message that had come in twenty minutes earlier., his arms working around Riku's limp and sweaty body to hold the device up and read his message. It was no surprise that it was from Leon. Closing it, he tossed the phone on the nightstand and stroked Riku's bare back. "We're leaving in two hours."

"I'm surprised that he's waited this long," murmured the younger man, shifting slightly but not clearing himself of Cloud's body. "Seiya probably convinced him to wait."

"Probably." Cloud didn't want to leave, but knew he had to. He reminded himself that it wasn't going to be a very long time before Riku would be moving to Radiant Garden, and they'd never have to deal with a long distance relationship again. They'd have their house together, their lives together, forever. It was sappy, but the simple idea of that made him smile.

"I suppose I need to let you pack, huh?"

"Naw, it'll take me five minutes to stuff my stuff in my bag."

"Good." Riku lifted his head. "I don't imagine we can convince Leon to let you stay for a few weeks? You can just stay... Help me move..."

"Doubt it, but we could try." Cloud smoothed the other's sleep mussed hair. "Would have better luck getting him to stay a few more days since Sephiroth seems to have things well covered."

"Yeah," Riku said softly, placing his head back on Cloud's chest. "I'm glad he's been able to help some there."

Cloud made a soft noise. "He's certainly trying."

Riku took a slow breath. "You are, too. I really appreciate that, Cloud. I know... I know it isn't easy."

"It's not that bad..." The older man admitted. "Overall, we ignore each other, and I know that isn't learning to deal with him, but it's a step. When we have to interact, it's kept to a minimum."

"All I ask is the effort be made."

"I know." Cloud ran his hand along Riku's hip. "I meant it when I said I'd do anything for you."

"Didn't doubt it." He sighed softly, his own hand sliding up Cloud's chest and over his shoulder. "And I'd do the same for you."

The blond was quiet for a minute. It was difficult at times to believe how much everything had changed for him, and how... comfortable he was about it. Drastic life changes had always been difficult for him, but nothing about this felt wrong. Maybe it was simply because he had control of these changes. He didn't know.

"Do you think we'll be any different to each other after we're married?" Riku asked casually, listening to Cloud's heartbeat. "They say relationships change after that, sometimes a lot."

"I don't know. It'll change some, I'm sure, but it would do that if we were simply living together." Cloud chuckled. "Hopefully, we won't decide we can't stand being in the same house."

"That would be horrible, wouldn't it?" Riku laughed. "End up having to live in separate houses... That would suck."

"I'd divorce you if it came to that. We can just date forever." Cloud's tone was completely serious.

Riku looked at him aghast. "You would, won't you?"

"Being married isn't worth losing what we have now." He threaded his fingers through the younger male's hair. "But if I really thought it would be a problem, I wouldn't have asked you. Whatever issues come up, we'll get through them."

Nodding, Riku kissed his chest. "I'm glad you said that. I don't want to lose this, either."

"Then we're good." Cloud ended the conversation. They had little more than an hour left now, and he didn't want to spend it in repetitive conversation. Freeing himself of Riku -and smirking at the childish noise of protest he got- the blond slid off the bed, catching Riku's ankle and tugging him toward the edge of the mattress.

Briefly startled, Riku managed an uneasy laugh. "What are you...?"

"Shower time," Cloud informed him, scooping him up and hauling him toward the bathroom. He was sure it looked hilarious given their differences in proportions. "I'm not spending hours in a cramped gummi with Leon without one."

"Right, and I was hoping for ulterior motives." Riku dragged his nails across his fiance's chest, tickling one of the scars in Cloud's shoulder,earning a delightful shudder from the man.

"Were you?" Cloud set him down inside the bathroom. He acted completely indifferent to Riku's suggestion, turning the tap and starting the water running. The shower stall wasn't very big... just barely enough for two. "And I just hate disappointing you, too. Now I have to decide which is more important; shower or giving you what you want."

Chuckling, Riku draped his arms around his neck from behind. "Lif'e's full of tough choices, innit?"

"It is, but this isn't one of those."

"It isn't?"

"No." Cloud reached behind and pinched Riku's bare thigh. At his squirm, Cloud turned and pushed Riku toward the shower. He kept at it until the teenager was under the spray, silver hair darkening to gray as it became soaked through. "No reason we can't both get what we want."

Riku didn't waste words. Bringing his hands up to frame Cloud's face, he leaned out of the water cascade and kissed him deeply, lips pressing to the older man's urgently, insistently. This would be their last time together until Cloud returned in a month to move Riku to Radiant Garden. He wanted it to count. Running his hands to Cloud's shoulders, he pulled him into the water, mouths locked together as water ran down their skin.

Chuckling as he stumbled, Cloud braced them both by placing a hand on the wall behind them, the other hand gripping Riku's hip. When Riku's lips left his to trail down the length of his neck, his grip on the teenager's hip tightened. His skin was warm from the combination of hot water and rising arousal, probably turning that pink color Riku loved to tease him about. He allowed Riku a moment to explore before taking the control back from him, pushing the young man back and against the shower wall.

"I love your ideas," said Riku in a rush of breath.

"I have a few good ones." Cloud's lips met Riku's again, his hands holding the teenager in place. He felt Riku's hands slip up his back, pulling him closer. The young man's arousal brushed at his thigh, awaking his own further. "Now shut up."

-0-0-

"Think they'll be on time?" Sora asked with a grin, glancing around the dock. There wasn't the usual bustle of activity at the moment, but that was likely due to the hour of day. It was too early for the lunch crowd, but well after the morning bunch would have cleared. His and Riku's boats were tied to the moor so he and Leon had simply set the luggage and bags into them as they waited.

"Wouldn't be surprised if they weren't." Leon mentally double checked his list of things he had been ordered to bring back to Radiant Garden. If he forgot any of the wedding items requested, Aerith and Tifa would lock him in a room with Yuffie and a back of pixie sticks. "Which is why I worked in an extra hour to my time table."

Shaking his head, Sora laughed. "You really are anal, you know that? Sometimes, ya just gotta chill."

"Goes against my nature to be chill." However, he did stop his calculations and turned to face the water. "It's been good to get away from the Reconstruction for a little while."

"Of course it is. Everyone's gotta take a break once in a while." Sora sat on the end of the dock, hands in his lap. "I think things around here are going to be crazy after you guys leave. Between school and getting Riku packed to leave..."

Leon gave him a minute, sensing by his tense posture that the boy had a lot on his mind. Throughout this trip, Sora had been falling into these moments. He had questions for Sora, observations that he wasn't alone in noticing. "Sora."

"Yeah?"

"You know you don't have to stay here, right?"

Sora didn't move. "This is home. I spent so long trying to get back here."

"And you made it back. You found your friends and came home, both of which are amazing accomplishments," said Leon. "However, just because this is 'home' doesn't mean it's where you belong. People outgrow where they live, find other places that make them happy, where they fit in."

The boy winced. He hadn't felt he fit in here since coming back. The Islands were home, where he spent his childhood... "I wonder if part of growing up is realizing that you've changed."

"Everything changes, Sora. You, me, Riku, your mom, here, Radiant Garden, even the tides change."

"Had to get an ocean reference in there, huh?" Sora flicked his eyes up briefly. "And I know all that. Don't really help with all these thoughts goin' round my head."

Leon shrugged.

"Do you think that's what happened? I've outgrown here?" It sounded like it could be true. Why else would he feel like he didn't quite fit anymore? Maybe he had changed too much for Destiny Islands to catch up. Maybe he had been gone too long.

"I can't tell you that." Leon turned his face down at the lapping water. "I can tell you that if for some reason, my homeworld were to return, I wouldn't go back."

Sora's brow furrowed. "You wouldn't?"

The older man shook his head. "It wouldn't be my home anymore. I'd want to see it, visit on occasion but only for the memories it would bring and those are all here-" he touched his temple then chest "-within me. Garden was home, but it's not mine anymore."

"Oh." That gave Sora something to think on. "I think, for me, it's more about the people..." And one of those were leaving him here alone forever.

"Again, I can't tell you if it is."

"I know." Sora shook his head to clear it. He had time to consider all of this later. "I'm kinda jealous of Riku, getting a whole new house to decorate and do cool stuff to. Ya think Cloud's gonna let him do whatever he wants?"

"I think we're going to see a lot of head butting over it." Leon chuckled. "I can't think of two people with more opposite tastes. The only thing they have in common is the habit of liking sleeveless shirts."

Sora snorted loudly. "Well if I had arms like them, I might like to wear them, too."

"I do and I don't care for it."

"You don't even like to wear shorts, Leon."

"No, I don't." Leon folded his arms across his chest. "Never have, either."

"Riku isn't too big on them. Never understood why, cause I love shorts." Sora kicked his feet "I think he's embarrassed cause he has knoby knees."

Leon snorted softly. "Well that would ruin his illusion of physical perfection."

"Heh, yeah. He's so vain sometimes, though I think it's a family trait. His mom was like that and Sephiroth is just narcissistic."

"He really is, but I don't dare imply it around him." The older man agreed. "I have to say, for whoever he was before, and I don't question or doubt anything Cloud told me about him, he's been extremely helpful. There's still a lot of tension and unease when it comes to him, but his assistance has been appreciated. I hope for Riku's sake, Cloud and Sephiroth will find a level of neutrality."

"They will." Sora wasn't worried anymore. They both loved Riku, and would do anything for him. In the distance, he spotted Riku and Cloud walking toward them."Things are only gonna get better."

"For them?" Leon motioned with his head, seeing the couple also.

"For all of us."


End file.
